Vertex Terminates Liver Disease Gene Editing Collaboration with Verve Therapeutics

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has ended its 2022 research collaboration with Verve Therapeutics, set up to develop an in vivo gene editing program for a specific liver disease. The decision, attributed to Vertex's shifting research priorities, allows Verve to regain full rights to the program.

Vertex invested USD 60 mn - comprising a USD 25 mn upfront payment and a USD 35 mn equity investment in Verve. Verve is now free to advance the program independently.

The following article originally appeared in BioPharma Dive.

The end of the Vertex-Verve collaboration comes as investors are reevaluating once sky-high expectations for the gene editing industry as commercial realities set in. Shares of Verve and top companies in the field have dropped dramatically from highs reached in 2021. Verve’s stock topped $73 in September 2021; the company’s shares were little changed at $6.27 Thursday morning.

Verve’s main focus is cardiovascular disease, and it has three lead therapies outside of the liver disease program previously partnered with Vertex. Eli Lilly is working with Verve on VERVE-301, which is designed to turn off the LPA gene in the liver to reduce levels of blood lipoprotein (a), a risk factor for complications such as stroke.

Lilly also has the right to opt in to programs targeting the PCSK9 and ANGPTL3 genes to reduce cholesterol that are being tested in Phase 1 studies. Verve expects to have initial data on the PCSK9 program — with a gene editing therapy called VERVE-102 — in the second quarter. The company is looking for an answer from Lilly about opting into that program in the second half of this year.

For more, please find the original story source here.