GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet and technology group Alphabet, has led a $63m series A2 round for Verve Therapeutics, a US-based developer of genomic heart disease drugs.
F-Prime Capital, a subsidiary of investment and financial services firm Fidelity, also took part in the round, as did Arch Venture Partners, Biomatics Capital, Wellington Management and Casdin Capital.
Verve is combining genetics analysis and gene editing in order to develop therapeutics that will treat coronary heart disease by targeting genes in the liver that cause significant risk factors. The cash will fund studies that will support an investigational new drug application for its lead product.
The company has licensing agreements in place with Harvard University as well as Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. Kiran Musunuru, Verve’s co-founder and chief scientific advisor, is an associate professor of cardiovascular medicine and genetics at University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.
GV managing partner Krishna Yeshwant said: “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.”
The company had previously received $58.5m in a series A round disclosed when it launched in May 2019. GV also led that round, investing together with F-Prime Capital, Arch Venture Partners and Biomatics Capital.
