Verve Therapeutics soars on report Eli Lilly in talks for $1.3 billion deal
17/06/2025 11:37
Updates ** Genetic medicines developer Verve Therapeutics' VERV.O shares jump 77.83% to $11.15 in premarket trading ** Eli Lilly LLY.N is in talks to buy VERV for up to $1.3 billion to expand its experimental drug pipeline, the Financial Times reports ** The deal could be announced as early as this week, provided talks stay on track - FT, citing people familiar with the matter ** LLY shares down nearly 1% to $799.85 before the bell ** Cautious on potential acquisition of Verve by Lilly, as we question the ultimate commercial viability of gene editing for primary care conditions, BMO Capital Markets says ** Brokerage adds "while the proposed deal size is low relative to Lilly's investment firepower, we think there may be better uses of capital for the company at this time" ** VERV, which had a market cap of about $559 million, is up ~11% YTD through last close (Reporting by Joel Jose and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru) ((joeljose@thomsonreuters.com;))