Eli Lilly (LLY) Makes Bold Move into Gene-Editing Arena with Verve Therapeutics Takeover

Big Pharma just got bigger—and sharper. Eli Lilly's acquisition of Verve Therapeutics isn't just a deal—it's a scalpel slicing into the $1.5T gene-editing market.

Why this matters

Lilly's jumping into CRISPR-powered medicine headfirst. No more baby steps—this is a full-on sprint to own the future of cardiovascular treatments. Verve's base-editing tech could turn cholesterol management into a one-time procedure.

The finance angle

Wall Street's already drooling over the potential—never mind that most gene therapies still can't scale. Typical pharma logic: buy the shiny thing now, figure out manufacturing later. At least Lilly's R&D budget can handle the burn rate.

Bottom line

When a 148-year-old drug giant starts playing with genetic scissors, pay attention. This could be the acquisition that finally makes precision medicine… well, precise.

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VERV stock nearly doubled on June 17 as news broke that pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is buying the gene-editing company. The two companies were already partners on a handful of treatments for cardiovascular disease.

Eli Lilly has agreed to pay $10.50 per share of VERV stock, totaling $1 billion. The company also agreed to pay an additional $3 per share in a contingent value right. Verve Therapeutics’ stock ROSE an astounding 81.5% on news of the takeover. LLY stock fell 2%.

New Frontiers

Many doctors, scientists and analysts see gene editing as a new frontier in medicine, one that is likely to get a boost from advances in artificial intelligence (AI). Senior management at Eli Lilly was likely impressed with Verve Therapeutics’ clinical trial results for its drug VERVE-102, which blocks a gene that causes high cholesterol.

A recent clinical trial showed the gene editing lowered cholesterol by an average of 53%. There were also no safety concerns found during the trial. Eli Lilly first partnered with Verve Therapeutics in 2023, paying $60 million to co-develop treatments aimed at reducing incidence of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular problems.

Eli Lilly also previously paid $250 million for the opt-in rights to three of Verve’s gene-editing programs.

Is LLY Stock a Buy?

The stock of Eli Lilly has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation among 20 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 17 Buy, two Hold, and one Sell recommendations issued in the last 12 months. The average LLY price target of $997.60 implies 23.53% upside from current levels.