Why Lilly's Bid for Verve Therapeutics Sent the Stock Soaring This Week

Shares in Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VERV) soared 80.5% this week on the news of an agreement for Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) to acquire Verve. The deal centers on an exciting cardiovascular health medicine program, VERVE-102.It's easy to see why Lilly is excited about the program. VERVE-102 targets the PCSK9 gene, aiming to deactivate it in the liver, and achieves this with a single infusion. Given that PCSK9 binds to low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (often called "bad" cholesterol) receptors and prevents them from recycling to the cell surface, it follows that inhibiting PCSK9 will improve the body's ability to remove bad cholesterol.The initial results from the phase 1b trial give cause for optimism. According to Verve's press release:Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool