Verve Therapeutics Announces Dosing of First Patient in Heart-2 Phase 1b Clinical Trial Evaluating VERVE-102

VERVE-102 is an investigational in vivo base editing medicine designed to permanently inactivate the PCSK9 gene in the liver to durably reduce blood low-density lipoprotein cholesterol

Heart-2 enrolling patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia or premature coronary artery disease

BOSTON, May 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verve Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new approach to the care of cardiovascular disease with single-course gene editing medicines, today announced that the first patient has been dosed with VERVE-102 in the Heart-2 Phase 1b clinical trial. The Heart-2 trial is enrolling adult patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) or premature coronary artery disease (CAD), two patient populations who require deep reductions of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in the blood for an extended period of time. Patients living with HeFH have an inherited disorder characterized by elevated blood levels of LDL-C starting early in life. Patients living with premature CAD experience cholesterol-driven blockage of coronary arteries early in life and are at high risk of further complications. A lack of durable control of LDL-C levels in both HeFH and premature CAD patients carries high lifetime risks for cardiovascular events, including heart attack and sudden death.

“Dosing the first patient in the Heart-2 Phase 1b clinical trial for VERVE-102 is an important step in the continued progress of our pipeline,” said Sekar Kathiresan, M.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of Verve Therapeutics. “We are focused on transforming the care of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) through gene editing medicines that can lead to sustained reductions in blood cholesterol after a single course of treatment. VERVE-102 is designed to turn off the PCSK9 gene with a goal of durably lowering LDL-C in patients living with either HeFH or premature CAD, and we look forward to evaluating the safety and preliminary efficacy data of VERVE-102 in the Heart-2 trial. With Clinical Trial Applications cleared in Canada and the United Kingdom, we are actively enrolling patients in the Heart-2 trial and expect to provide a data update on our PCSK9 program in 2025.”