CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Verve Therapeutics, a biotech company pioneering gene editing medicines to treat cardiovascular disease, today announced two presentations highlighting gene editing as a potentially transformative therapeutic approach at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2020, taking place virtually November 13-17, 2020. Verve is developing one-time gene editing medicines to safely and precisely turn off a gene in the liver to permanently lower LDL cholesterol or triglyceride levels and thereby treat adults with coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death worldwide.

Sekar Kathiresan, M.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of Verve Therapeutics, will present an overview of Verve’s approach to develop medicines that safely edit the adult human genome and mimic naturally occurring protective gene variants to confer resistance to coronary heart disease. He will also highlight preclinical data in non-human primates demonstrating the successful use of base editing to knock out PCSK9 or ANGPTL3 in the liver and substantially reduce blood levels of LDL cholesterol or triglycerides. Coronary heart disease occurs when cholesterol-laden plaque builds up in the arteries of the heart, which can restrict blood flow and lead to a heart attack.

“Human genetics has provided the blueprint for how to treat coronary heart disease by revealing healthy individuals who have protective genetic mutations that confer resistance to heart attack,” said Dr. Kathiresan. “With advances in gene editing, we now have the ability to edit the adult genome to treat this disease at a genetic level, opening the door to create a potential once-and-done treatment for patients. We have made significant progress toward our goal of developing gene editing medicines for adults with coronary heart disease and plan to select our lead program by the end of this year. We look forward to presenting an overview of our therapeutic approach and proof-of-concept data in non-human primates utilizing base editing at the upcoming AHA annual meeting.”

Dr. Kathiresan’s presentations will be available for OnDemand viewing on the AHA Scientific Sessions 2020 virtual platform throughout the meeting. Presentation details are as follows:

Presentation Title: Manipulating the Genome for Therapy
Session Title: Best Science in Cardiovascular Genetics and Genomics
Session Date & Time: Available OnDemand beginning Friday, November 13, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. CT through Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 8:30 p.m. CT
Session Number: GE.CVS.639

Presentation Title: Coronary Heart Disease Prevention in 2050: Reading the Genome for Risk and Rewriting It for Health
Session Title: 20:20 Vision for 2050: Predicting the Future of Cardiovascular Health and Medicine
Session Date & Time: Available OnDemand beginning Friday, November 13, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. CT through Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 8:30 p.m. CT
Session Number: EP.HL.729

About Verve Therapeutics

Verve Therapeutics is a biotechnology company created with a singular focus: to protect the world from heart disease. The company brings together human genetics analysis and gene editing – two of the biggest breakthroughs in 21st century biomedicine – to develop transformative therapies for coronary heart disease. Verve is developing medicines, administered once in life, to safely edit the genome of adults and mimic naturally occurring gene variants to permanently lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels and thereby treat coronary heart disease. Founded by world-leading experts in cardiovascular medicine, human genetics and gene editing, Verve is backed by a top-tier syndicate of investors, including GV (formerly Google Ventures), ARCH Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, Biomatics Capital, Wellington Management, Casdin Capital, and Partners Innovation Fund. Verve is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.VerveTx.com.

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