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Eli Lilly is in advanced talks to buy gene editing start-up Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3bn in what would be the latest acquisition by the world’s largest drugmaker as it seeks to boost its pipeline of experimental medicines.
As part of the deal, Eli Lilly would pay almost $1bn upfront for Verve, which is developing a gene-editing therapy to treat bad cholesterol, and a further $300mn based on the biotech company achieving certain clinical milestones, two people familiar with the matter said.
The deal values Verve at about double its current share price. The Boston-based company’s market capitalisation stood at just under $559mn after trading closed on Monday.
Eli Lilly declined to comment. Verve did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The deal could be announced as soon as this week, provided talks do not falter and the timeline slips, the people said.
The late-stage talks come during a slow period for dealmaking in the pharmaceutical industry. Despite some big drugmakers needing to address the imminent expiration of lucrative patents, companies have decided not to spend on large mergers and acquisitions.
The industry faces market turmoil and regulatory uncertainty caused by vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy JR’s position atop the US’s health departments.
In recent weeks, there have been signs of a pick-up in biopharma dealmaking activity.
French drugmaker Sanofi has struck an up to $9.5bn deal for immunology biotech Blueprint Medicines, while Bristol Myers Squibb agreed an up to $11.1bn partnership with German drugmaker BioNTech to develop a new cancer immunotherapy.
Unlike its rivals, Eli Lilly does not face the threat of shrinking revenues from impending patent expiration because of the huge windfall from its diabetes and obesity medicines Mounjaro and Zepbound, which are expected to generate $30.2bn in sales between them this year, according to analyst estimates.
Eli Lilly has taken a selective approach to dealmaking, focusing on buying experimental medicines instead of commercial-stage drugs. So far this year, it struck an up to $2.5bn for cancer biotech Scorpion Therapeutics and an up to $1bn for pain-focused biotech SiteOne Therapeutics.
Earlier this year, Verve — which already has a partnership with Eli Lilly — unveiled promising phase-one clinical data for its lead gene therapy treatment for cholesterol.