Verve Therapeutics, a preclinical biotech developing single-course gene editing therapies for cardiovascular disease, announced terms for its IPO on Monday.
The Cambridge, MA-based company plans to raise $201 million by offering 11.8 million shares at a price range of $16 to $18. Insiders Wellington Management and Casdin Capital and new investor Fidelity have indicated an interest in purchasing up to an aggregate $75 million worth of shares in the offering. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Verve Therapeutics would command a fully diluted market value of $812 million.
Verve is advancing a pipeline of single-course in vivo gene editing programs, each designed to mimic natural disease resistance mutations and turn off specific genes in order to lower blood lipids. Its initial programs are being developed for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. Its lead candidate, VERVE-101, is designed to be a single-course gene editing treatment that permanently turns off the PCSK9 gene in the liver. The company has initiated IND-enabling studies for VERVE-101 and intends to submit an IND in 2022.
Verve Therapeutics was founded in 2018 and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol VERV. J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, Guggenheim Securities, and William Blair are the joint bookrunners on the deal. It is expected to price during the week of June 14, 2021.
