- Verve Therapeutics, a next-generation cardiovascular company developing therapies, announced it raised $63 million
Verve Therapeutics — a next-generation cardiovascular company developing therapies that safely edit the adult human genome to permanently reduce a person’s risk of coronary heart disease — announced it raised $63 million in a Series A2 financing from both existing and new investors. And the Series A2 round was led by existing investor GV (formerly Google Ventures) with participation from current investors ARCH Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, and Biomatics Capital.
New investors Wellington Management and Casdin Capital also participated in the round. This additional funding round reflects the company’s strong preclinical progress to date and the buildout of a talented scientific team.
Launched in May 2019, Verve has raised a total of $123 million in funding. And the company will use the funding to advance its lead program through IND-enabling studies and fuel follow-on pipeline programs. Verve is developing one-time gene-editing therapies to safely edit targeted genes in the liver to permanently lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, key risk factors that cause coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease — which is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide — develops when there is build-up of cholesterol-laden plaque in the heart’s arteries.
Verve Therapeutics was launched with a singular focus: to protect the world from heart disease. And the company brings together human genetics analysis and gene editing: two of the biggest breakthroughs in 21st century biomedicine for developing transformative therapies for coronary heart disease. And Verve is developing gene-editing therapies — administered once in life — that safely edit the genome of adults to permanently lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels lifelong, reducing the risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack.
Key Quotes:
“We are immensely grateful to our existing investors for their continued support and commitment to our bold vision to eradicate coronary heart disease, and are very pleased to welcome Wellington Management and Casdin Capital to our investor syndicate. This financing is a testament to the tremendous work by the Verve team and will position us to rapidly advance our lead therapeutic candidate through IND-enabling studies and expand our pipeline of development programs. People with heart disease are in urgent need of new therapeutic options, and Verve’s research to date further underscores the transformative potential of gene editing as a therapeutic approach for these patients.”
– Sekar Kathiresan, M.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of Verve
“Verve’s approach for a once-and-done treatment to address coronary heart disease has the potential to eliminate the leading cause of death in the world, similar to the way the polio vaccine changed history in the last century. Over the past year, Verve has made remarkable progress on their preclinical programs. The company has a world-class founding team that brings together all of the skills needed to execute on this mission, from human genetics to genome editing technologies to drug development and delivery.”
– Krishna Yeshwant, M.D., managing partner at GV
“Verve’s compelling vision and rapid progress are extremely exciting. We believe gene-editing technology for the treatment of coronary heart disease holds great promise. We look forward to partnering with the Verve team in its pursuit of groundbreaking medicines.”
– Bob Deresiewicz, M.D., senior managing director and partner at Wellington Management
