June 17 (UPI) -- Eli Lilly and Company said Tuesday it will buy out Boston-based Verve Therapeutics Inc. in a billion dollar deal with plans to advance Verve's new line of experimental cardiac health drugs.
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly announced its definitive agreement to acquire Verge, a gene-editing startup, for up to $1.3 billion at $10.50 a share -- a premium of 67.5% at last closing -- with the goal to boost Verve's budding pipeline of medicine designed to target and treat a wide-range of cardiovascular-related health issues.
"Lilly is eager to welcome our Verve colleagues to Lilly and continue the development of these promising potential new medicines aimed at improving outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease and addressing the significant unmet medical need in this space," said Ruth Gimeno, Lilly's group VP for diabetes and metabolic research and development.
Under the agreement terms, the transaction will not be subject to any financing conditions and will include a nearly $1 billion upfront payout plus a further $300 million based on certain clinical milestones.
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