The biotech grapevine is dripping with speculation that Eli Lilly is about to make a $1.3 billion takeover bid for Verve Therapeutics, upgrading a collaboration between the two companies that dates back to 2023.

生物技术界的传闻盛传，礼来公司即将以 13 亿美元的价格收购 Verve Therapeutics，这将升级两家公司自 2023 年以来的合作关系。

A report in the

报告在

Financial Times

金融时报

suggests that Lilly is in advanced talks to acquire Verve at a time when it is due to make an opt-in decision on a PCSK9 inhibitor candidate for cardiovascular diseases.

表明礼来公司正在就收购韦尔夫进行深入谈判，而此时正值其即将就一款用于治疗心血管疾病的PCSK9抑制剂候选药物作出选择决定之际。

Lilly

莉莉

acquired

获得

the rights to the candidate – and two others against cholesterol targets PCSK9 and ANGPTL3 – from Beam Therapeutics two years ago for up to $600 million. According to people close to the matter, it is now considering an upfront payment of around $1 billion to take control of Verve outright, with another $300 million in potential milestones..

两年前，Beam Therapeutics以高达6亿美元的价格获得了针对PCSK9和ANGPTL3胆固醇靶点的候选药物及其他两种药物的权利。据知情人士透露，该公司现在正考虑支付约10亿美元的首付款，以全面掌控Verve公司，并另附3亿美元的潜在里程碑付款。

That represents an almost 100% premium on Verve's valuation of around $560 million before rumours of the negotiations emerged, although the speculation has since driven an 80%-plus spike in the biotech's Nasdaq-listed shares. The deal could be announced as soon as this week, according to the FT.

这比传闻出现前Verve约5.6亿美元的估值高出近100%，尽管此后市场猜测已推动这家生物技术公司在纳斯达克上市的股票上涨了80%以上。据英国《金融时报》报道，该交易可能在本周宣布。

Lilly also has an earlier alliance with Verve for an in vivo gene-editing programme targeting lp(a), a risk factor for atherosclerotic disease that was also signed two years ago.

礼来公司还与Verve建立了较早的联盟，针对动脉粥样硬化疾病风险因子Lp(a)开展体内基因编辑项目，该合作也是两年前签署的。

In April, Verve tweaked the development of the first PCSK9 inhibitor in its programme (VERVE-101) after a trial revealed issues with liver toxicity that the biotech attributed to the lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery system for the drug, an in vivo base-editing candidate developed using Beam's technology platform..

今年4月，Verve在其项目中调整了首个PCSK9抑制剂（VERVE-101）的开发，此前一项试验显示肝脏毒性问题，该生物技术公司将此归因于药物的脂质纳米颗粒（LNP）递送系统，这是一种使用Beam技术平台开发的体内碱基编辑候选药物。

The company has since switched to a second LNP vector with a follow-up candidate (VERVE-102) that seems to offer improved safety and equivalent efficacy at lowering LDL cholesterol according to phase 1 testing in people living with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) and/or premature coronary artery disease (CAD).

公司随后转向第二种LNP载体，并推出后续候选药物（VERVE-102），根据针对杂合子家族性高胆固醇血症（HeFH）和/或早发性冠状动脉疾病（CAD）患者的1期试验结果，该药物似乎在降低LDL胆固醇方面具有更高的安全性和相当的疗效。

A phase 2 trial is due to start later this year..

今年晚些时候，二期试验即将开始。

Meanwhile, Verve is running a phase 1b trial of VERVE-201, a base editing medicine targeting ANGPTL3, in refractory hypercholesterolaemia and homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH). The Lp(a) candidate – VERVE-301 – remains in preclinical development.

同时，Verve公司正在对VERVE-201进行1b期临床试验，这是一种针对ANGPTL3的碱基编辑药物，用于治疗难治性高胆固醇血症和纯合子家族性高胆固醇血症（HoFH）。而Lp(a)候选药物——VERVE-301——仍处于临床前开发阶段。

The takeover rumour has emerged during a flurry of M&A activity in the biopharma sector, with transactions recently announced between Supernus/Sage, Sanofi/Blueprint, BioNTech/CureVac, Novartis/Regulus, and Merck/SpringWorks.

在生物制药领域近期出现了一波并购热潮， takeover 传闻也随之浮现，最近公布的交易包括 Supernus/Sage、Sanofi/Blueprint、BioNTech/CureVac、Novartis/Regulus 和 Merck/SpringWorks 之间的交易。

It would be Lilly's third major acquisition in 2025, coming after it agreed to buy cancer drug developer

这将是礼来公司在2025年的第三次重大收购，此前它已同意收购癌症药物开发商

Scorpion Therapeutics

蝎子治疗学公司

for up to $2.5 billion in January and pain specialist

1月份高达25亿美元和疼痛科专家

SiteOne Therapeutics

站点一治疗公司

for up to $1 billion in May.

5月，最高可达10亿美元。

The company is sitting on a cash pile fuelled by the runaway success of its GLP-1 agonist-based diabetes and obesity and is on the hunt for pipeline and portfolio-expanding deals. Verve's focus also complements Lilly's own activities in cardiovascular, which include an Lp(a) candidate,

公司坐拥因基于GLP-1激动剂的糖尿病和肥胖症药物的巨大成功而带来的巨额现金，并正在寻找扩充产品线和投资组合的交易。Verve的关注点也与礼来在心血管领域的自身活动相辅相成，其中包括一种Lp(a)候选药物。

lepodisiran

莱波迪西兰

, that just hit the mark in a phase 2 trial.

，刚好在第二阶段试验中达到目标。