Verve Therapeutics announced disappointing lab results for its CRISPR gene-editing approach to high cholesterol, and VERV stock skidded.
The company tested its one-time treatment in monkeys. Researchers evaluated two different doses. Depending on the dosage and when the evaluation was completed, the monkeys had a 49%-69% reduction in "bad" LDL cholesterol from their baselines.
But the results might not be stout enough to go up against statins, the traditional treatment for patients with high cholesterol. At the maximum dose, patients usually experience a 50% decrease in LDL cholesterol.
On today's stock market, VERV stock tumbled 7.4% to 37.70.
VERV Stock: Reductions In LDL, PCSK9
Verve tested a low dose of its treatment in four monkeys and the high dose in 22. The gene-editing treatment aims to permanently shut off the gene responsible for making the PCSK9 protein. That protein is tied to LDL cholesterol.
After a year, the monkeys in the low-dose group experienced an average 49% reduction in LDL cholesterol from their baselines. Researchers also examined the amount of PCSK9 protein in their blood. Those levels were 67% lower, on average.
Researchers evaluated the high-dose group after roughly a year and four months. Their LDL cholesterol was, on average, 69% lower. The monkeys also had an 83% decline in the culprit protein, Verve said in a news release.
Bullishly for VERV stock, researchers found no evidence the genetic manipulation extended to the sperm of six monkeys. They also found the PCSK9 edit hadn't been transmitted to any offspring from 436 female mice treated with the drug.
This is a key point. Scientists agree it's ethically sound to edit diseases in people, but only in ways the edits aren't passed down to children. Verve is already testing the drug in people abroad. The Food and Drug Administration has yet to give Verve the go-ahead for human testing.
Shares Form A Cup Base
VERV stock is currently forming a cup base with a buy point at 43.10, according to MarketSmith.com.
Shares have a best-possible Relative Strength Rating of 99, IBD Digital shows.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
