Eli Lilly is buying biotech start-up Verve Therapeutics in a deal worth $1.3B to gain access to gene-editing therapy and add capabilities to its experimental medicine line-up.

Eli Lilly & Co. has also reported that it purchased gene-editing biotech Verve Therapeutics Inc., seeking to grow its pipeline of experimental medicine, in a deal valued at $1.3 billion. The giant firm says this will be one of the key steps in increasing its portfolio of experimental medications. The U.S.-based drug industry giant will pay per share, i.e., 13.50 dollars, including 10.50 dollars in cash and up to 3 dollars in a contingent value right.

The transaction makes Eli Lilly the sole owner of the Verve biotech program that aims at decreasing lipoprotein, which is a major contributor of plaque in the arteries. This purchase is anticipated to be done in Q3 2025.

The stock of Verve jumped more than 75 percent after the announcement, and the shares of Eli Lilly fell a little. The company is known to pioneer the use of a lipid nanoparticle-based delivery method for administering gene editing therapies, a more cost-effective and scalable option in the world of traditional gene therapy.

Eli Lilly is already a giant player in weight-loss therapy, having in January some other similar deals with Scorpion Therapeutics and SiteOne Therapeutics.

This Serve buyout is an indication of a larger strategy of Eli Lilly to achieve its long-term growth based on biotech innovation. The action also indicates that the company has been optimistic about the in vivo gene-editing therapy developed by Verve that can be used by a broad patient base.

Ruth Gimeno, Eli Lilly senior vice president of diabetes and metabolic research and development, observed the promise of Verve Bio treatment as a novel groundbreaking treatment that edits the genes within a human body.

Eli Lilly is taking a significant risk by diversifying its product line in anticipation of significant patent losses.