Lilly Bets $1.3B on One-Shot Cure for Heart Disease

Lilly buys Verve Therapeutics to chase a one-time gene edit that could end lifelong cholesterol treatment.

30 Jul 2025

Eli Lilly is making one of its boldest moves yet, striking a $1.3 billion deal to buy Verve Therapeutics and push gene editing into the heart of mainstream medicine. The July 2025 acquisition could be the moment this technology moves from rare-disease experiments to tackling the world’s biggest killer.

At the center of the deal is VERVE-102, Verve’s experimental therapy that aims to permanently switch off a single gene, PCSK9, in the liver. That gene plays a major role in raising LDL cholesterol, the so-called “bad” kind that fuels heart disease. One dose could keep cholesterol in check for life, potentially making daily statins and regular injections obsolete for millions.

Lilly is paying $1 billion upfront, with another $300 million if certain milestones are met. More than a splashy price tag, it signals a shift in strategy. Big pharma is no longer just flirting with gene editing. It is committing serious resources to develop it for common, chronic conditions, not only rare genetic syndromes.

“This acquisition unlocks the opportunity to potentially transform the treatment paradigm for millions of patients worldwide with a one-and-done treatment,” said Ruth Gimeno, Lilly’s head of diabetes and metabolic research.

The ripple effect was immediate. Stocks of other gene editing players, including Beam Therapeutics and Intellia Therapeutics, jumped as investors reassessed the commercial potential of similar approaches.

Yet the path ahead is not guaranteed. Regulators will want long-term safety data. Health systems will need to rethink payment models for cures that replace decades of prescriptions. But by taking Verve in-house, Lilly now controls both the science and the speed, giving it a strong shot at leading the race.

This is more than just another deal. If the gamble pays off, it could usher in a new era of curative medicine, where heart care is not managed for life but solved in a single visit. For patients, that would be nothing short of a medical revolution.