Eli Lilly announced this week that it will be acquiring Beam Therapeutics' opt-in rights from its gene editing deal with Verve Therapeutics.
Under the terms of the deal, Lilly will gain specific rights from Beam's venture with Verve, with a primary focus on base editing programs aimed at treating cardiovascular diseases, including PCSK9, ANGPTL3 and a liver-mediated cardiovascular target.
In exchange, Beam will receive a $200 million upfront payment, along with a $50 million equity investment. Beam could also receive up to $350 million in future development-stage payments, resulting in a potential total deal consideration of up to $600 million.
Verve and Beam began working together in April of 2019, launching a partnership aimed to advance the development of gene editing strategies targeting genes associated with an elevated risk of coronary diseases. The original agreement granted Verve exclusive rights to specific technologies for the gene targets. In 2022, the two expanded Verve's licensing to include an additional liver-mediated cardiovascular target, enabling Verve to develop and commercialize products, with Beam having the option to share development and commercialization costs and profits after phase 1 trials.
