Eli Lilly’s LLY recent announcement to acquire Verve Therapeutics, Inc VERV, a Boston-based clinical-stage company developing genetic medicines for cardiovascular disease, has put the spotlight on other promising companies developing gene therapies.
Post this acquisition, Lilly will add Verve’s pipeline of gene therapies targeting heart diseases. This includes VERVE-102, an investigational in vivo gene-editing therapy aimed at reducing cholesterol levels.
The share price of other gene-editing companies like Crispr Therapeutics CRSP and Intellia Therapeutics NTLA rallied following the announcement. Other companies in this space like Beam Therapeutics BEAM were also up. However, share price of Editas Medicine pared most of the gains recorded during the day and ended the session in red.
A Look at Promising Gene-Editing Companies
The rapid evolution of genomics, the study of genes and their functions in recent times has paved the way for a revolutionary era in genetic medicine.
Gene-editing companies hold potential to treat and cure diseases caused by genetic variants. As the name suggests, they make changes or correct defects in the organism's DNA. The CRISPR/Cas9 technology is a breakthrough in the development of genome editing approaches.
Shares of NTLA were up 6.9% on June 17 on investor optimism about its prospects. Intellia Therapeutics is a clinical-stage gene editing company, focused on developing drugs with CRISPR-based therapies. NTLA is leveraging its modular platform to advance in vivo and ex vivo therapies for diseases with high unmet need.
NTLA’s leads in vivo product candidates are nex-z for the treatment of ATTR amyloidosis and NTLA-2002 for the treatment of hereditary angioedema.
CRISPR Therapeutics is rapidly leveraging its CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing platform to develop therapies for the treatment of hemoglobinopathies, cancer, diabetes and other diseases. Shares of CRSP were up 3.9% on June 17. CRISPR Therapeutics achieved a milestone in November 2023, when it received the first-ever authorization/approval for a CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited therapy under the trade name Casgevy. CRSP has collaborated with biotech giant Vertex Pharmaceuticals for Casgevy.
Meanwhile, BEAM is advancing a broad, diversified portfolio of base editing programs against distinct, genetically validated editing targets. The company is currently developing BEAM-101 for sickle cell disease (SCD). The FDA recently granted orphan drug designation to BEAM-101 for SCD.
Editas Medicine is a clinical-stage genome editing biotech developing treatment using its proprietary genome editing platform based on the unique CRISPR technology. The company is currently focusing on in vivo (within the living organism) pipeline development.
Focus on M&A in 2025
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) have picked up significant pace in 2025 in the pharma/biotech sector after a passive run in 2024. The recent spree of acquisitions signifies a focus on portfolio expansion and constant pipeline innovation amid the recent tariff threat.
While oncology and immuno-oncology companies have always been at the top of acquisition targets, the lucrative obesity sector and gene-editing space are also being eyed.
Pharma giant Sanofi recently announced that it will acquire Blueprint Medicines for a total deal value of up to $9.5 billion to expand its portfolio in rare immunological disease and add an early-stage pipeline in immunology. The impending acquisition will add Blueprint Medicines’ only marketed product, Ayvakit (avapritinib), an inhibitor of KIT and PDGFRA proteins, to Sanofi’s commercial portfolio.
In April, pharma giant Johnson & Johnson acquired Intra-Cellular Therapies for approximately $14.6 billion and added antidepressant drug, Caplyta, to its neuroscience portfolio.
Swiss pharma bigwig Novartis, too, has been on an acquisition spree. Novartis is all set to acquire San Diego-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Regulus Therapeutics to strengthen its renal disease portfolio.
M&A activity is expected to accelerate further in 2025, given the massive cash reserve owned by major pharma and biotech companies and intensifying pressure from investors to diversify business.
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Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): Free Stock Analysis Report Beam Therapeutics Inc. (BEAM): Free Stock Analysis Report Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NTLA): Free Stock Analysis Report CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP): Free Stock Analysis Report Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (VERV): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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