SEC Filing | Verve Therapeutics

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10-Q

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)


☒	QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2022


☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO 2SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ____________ to ____________

Commission File Number: 001-40489

VERVE THERAPEUTICS , INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)


Delaware	82-4800132
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

500 Technology Square, Suite 901 Cambridge, Massachusetts	02139
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617) 603-0070

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class

Trading
Symbol(s)

Name of each exchange on which registered

Common stock, par value $0.001 per share

VERV

Nasdaq Global Select Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.


Large accelerated filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☒	Smaller reporting company	☐
		Emerging growth company	☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of August 4, 2022, the registrant had 59,942,339 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, outstanding.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or the negative of these words or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.

The forward-looking statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q include, among other things, statements about:

•

the initiation, timing, progress and results of our research and development programs, preclinical studies and clinical trials, including the timing of our submissions of investigational new drug applications, or INDs, and clinical trial applications to regulatory authorities;

•

the timing and conduct of our heart-1 clinical trial, a Phase 1b clinical trial of VERVE-101, including statements regarding the timing of enrollment and completion of the clinical trials and the period during which the results of the clinical trials will become available;

•

our estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital requirements, need for additional financing and the period over which we believe our existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will be sufficient to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements;

•

the timing of and our ability to submit applications for and obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for our current and future product candidates;

•

the potential therapeutic attributes and advantages of our current and future product candidates;

•

our expectations about the translatability of non-human primates results into humans;

•

our plans to develop and, if approved, subsequently commercialize any product candidates we may develop;

•

the rate and degree of market acceptance and clinical utility of our products, if approved;

•

our estimates regarding the addressable patient population and potential market opportunity for our current and future product candidates;

•

our commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and strategy;

•

our expectations regarding our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection;

•

our ability to identify additional products, product candidates or technologies with significant commercial potential that are consistent with our commercial objectives;

•

the impact of government laws and regulations;

•

our competitive position and expectations regarding developments and projections relating to our competitors and any competing therapies that are or become available;

•

developments relating to our competitors and our industry;

•

our ability to establish and maintain collaborations or obtain additional funding;

•

the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and our response to the pandemic; and

•

our expectations regarding the time during which we will be an emerging growth company under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act.

We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. We have included important factors in the cautionary statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, particularly in the “Risk Factors” section, that we believe could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that we make. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, collaborations, joint ventures or investments we may make or enter into.

You should read this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the documents that we reference in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and have filed as exhibits to our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission completely and

with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. The forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are made as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and we do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Except where the context otherwise requires or where otherwise indicated, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “our company,” “the company,” and “our business” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q refer to Verve Therapeutics, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiary.

RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

Our business is subject to a number of risks of which you should be aware before making an investment decision. Below we summarize what we believe to be the principal risks facing our business, in addition to the risks described more fully in Item 1A, “Risk Factors” of Part II of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other information included in this report. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only risks and uncertainties we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we presently deem less significant may also impair our business operations.

If any of the following risks occurs, our business, financial condition and results of operations and future growth prospects could be materially and adversely affected, and the actual outcomes of matters as to which forward-looking statements are made in this report could be materially different from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements:

•

We will need substantial additional funding. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we could be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts;

•

Our limited operating history may make it difficult for you to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability;

•

We are very early in our development efforts, and we only recently initiated our first clinical trial of a product candidate, VERVE-101. As a result, we expect it will be many years before we commercialize any product candidate, if ever. If we are unable to advance our current or future product candidates into and through clinical trials, obtain marketing approval and ultimately commercialize our product candidates or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed;

•

Gene editing, including base editing, is a novel technology in a rapidly evolving field that is not yet clinically validated as being safe and efficacious for human therapeutic use. The approaches we are taking to discover and develop novel therapeutics are unproven and may never lead to marketable products. We are focusing our research and development efforts for VERVE-101 and VERVE-201, our development candidate targeting ANGPTL3, on gene editing using base editing technology, but other gene editing technologies may be discovered that provide significant advantages over base editing and we may not be able to access or use those technologies, which could materially harm our business. We are also seeking to discover new gene editing technologies and may not be successful in doing so;

•

The outcome of preclinical studies and earlier-stage clinical trials may not be predictive of future results or the success of later preclinical studies and clinical trials;

•

If any of the product candidates we may develop, or the delivery modes we rely on to administer them, cause serious adverse events, undesirable side effects or unexpected characteristics, such events, side effects or characteristics could delay or prevent regulatory approval of the product candidates, limit the commercial potential or result in significant negative consequences following any potential marketing approval;

•

Adverse public perception of genetic medicines, and gene editing and base editing in particular, may negatively impact regulatory approval of, and/or demand for, our potential products;

•

Genetic medicines are complex and difficult to manufacture. We could experience delays in satisfying regulatory authorities or production problems that result in delays in our development programs, limit the supply of our product candidates we may develop, or otherwise harm our business;

•

We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct some or all aspects of our product manufacturing, research and preclinical and clinical testing, and these third parties may not perform satisfactorily;

•

We have entered into collaborations, and may enter into additional collaborations, with third parties for the research, development, manufacture and commercialization of programs or product candidates. If these collaborations are not successful, our business could be adversely affected;

•

If we or our licensors are unable to obtain, maintain, defend and enforce patent rights that cover our gene editing technology and product candidates or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize technology and products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully develop and commercialize our technology and product candidates may be adversely affected;

•

If we fail to comply with our obligations in our intellectual property license arrangements with third parties, or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our licensors, we could lose intellectual property rights that are important to our business;

•

The intellectual property landscape around genome editing technology, including base editing, is highly dynamic, and third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating their

intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and may prevent, delay or otherwise interfere with our product discovery, development and commercialization efforts;

•

We face substantial competition, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products before us or more successfully than we do; and

•

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may affect our ability to initiate and complete preclinical studies, delay the initiation of future clinical trials, disrupt regulatory activities or have other adverse effects on our business and operations. In addition, this pandemic has adversely impacted economies worldwide, which could result in adverse effects on our business, operations and ability to raise capital.

Table of Contents


		Page
PART I.	FINANCIAL INFORMATION	1
Item 1.	Financial Statements (Unaudited)	1
	Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets	1
	Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss	2
	Condensed Consolidated Statements of Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)	3
	Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows	4
	Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements	5
Item 2.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	19
Item 3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	33
Item 4.	Controls and Procedures	33

PART II.	OTHER INFORMATION	34
Item 1.	Legal Proceedings	34
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	34
Item 2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds	95
Item 6.	Exhibits	96
Signatures		97

Part I ─ Financial Information

Item 1. Financial Statements

Verve Therapeutics, Inc.

Condensed consolidated balance sheets


(in thousands, except share and per share amounts) (unaudited)	June 30, 2022			December 31, 2021
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	72,889		$	64,330
Marketable securities		220,672			296,112
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		5,083			6,686
Total current assets		298,644			367,128
Property and equipment, net		12,354			7,224
Restricted cash		5,237			5,237
Operating lease right-of-use assets		839			1,839
Other long term assets		7,193			2,696
Total assets	$	324,267		$	384,124
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	6,320		$	7,077
Accrued expenses		18,620			12,992
Operating lease obligations, current portion		907			1,955
Total current liabilities		25,847			22,024
Success payment liability		1,756			4,371
Other long term liabilities		331			377
Total liabilities		27,934			26,772
Commitments and contingencies (See Note 7 and Note 8)
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively		—			—
Common stock, $0.001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized, 48,709,652 and 48,511,735 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively		49			49
Additional paid-in capital		555,184			544,381
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(938	)		(228	)
Accumulated deficit		(257,962	)		(186,850	)
Total stockholders’ equity		296,333			357,352
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	324,267		$	384,124

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Verve Therapeutics, Inc.

Condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss


	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts) (unaudited)	2022			2021			2022			2021
Operating expenses:
Research and development	$	33,125		$	13,423		$	57,614		$	24,768
General and administrative		9,067			3,541			16,503			6,257
Total operating expenses		42,192			16,964			74,117			31,025
Loss from operations		(42,192	)		(16,964	)		(74,117	)		(31,025	)
Other income (expense):
Change in fair value of antidilution rights liability		-			(25,970	)		-			(25,574	)
Change in fair value of success payment liability		938			(10,036	)		2,615			(9,654	)
Interest and other income, net		308			5			390			25
Total other income (expense), net		1,246			(36,001	)		3,005			(35,203	)
Net loss	$	(40,946	)	$	(52,965	)	$	(71,112	)	$	(66,228	)
Net loss per common share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted	$	(0.84	)	$	(6.66	)	$	(1.46	)	$	(12.46	)
Weighted-average common shares used in net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted		48,674,873			7,948,110			48,623,330			5,316,084
Comprehensive Loss:
Net loss	$	(40,946	)	$	(52,965	)	$	(71,112	)	$	(66,228	)
Other comprehensive loss:
Unrealized loss on marketable securities		(206	)		(4	)		(710	)		(5	)
Comprehensive loss	$	(41,152	)	$	(52,969	)	$	(71,822	)	$	(66,233	)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Verve Therapeutics, Inc.

Condensed consolidated statements of convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit)


	Convertible preferred stock						Common stock
(in thousands, except share amounts) (unaudited)	Shares			Amount			Shares		Amount		Additional paid-in capital		Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)			Accumulated deficit			Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)
Balance at December 31, 2020		179,519,032		$	125,160			2,585,789	$	3	$	2,616	$	8		$	(66,536	)	$	(63,909	)
Issuance of Series B convertible preferred stock, net of issuance costs of $241		77,163,022			93,759			—		—		—		—			—			—
Vesting of restricted common stock		—			—			134,409		—		—		—			—			—
Exercise of stock options		—			—			48,745		—		72		—			—			72
Unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities		—			—			—		—		—		(1	)		—			(1	)
Stock-based compensation		—			—			—		—		670		—			—			670
Net loss		—			—			—		—		—		—			(13,263	)		(13,263	)
Balance at March 31, 2021		256,682,054		$	218,919			2,768,943	$	3	$	3,358	$	7		$	(79,799	)	$	(76,431	)
Conversion of convertible preferred stock to common stock upon closing of initial public offering		(256,682,054	)		(218,919	)		27,720,923		28		218,891		—			—			218,919
Issuance of common stock from initial public offering, net of issuance costs of $25,098		—			—			16,141,157		16		281,568		—			—			281,584
Issuance of common stock to licensor institutions		—			—			878,098		1		32,489		—			—			32,490
Vesting of restricted common stock		—			—			134,408		—		—		—			—			—
Exercise of stock options		—			—			303,467		—		452		—			—			452
Unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities		—			—			—		—		—		(4	)		—			(4	)
Stock-based compensation		—			—			—		—		1,351		—			—			1,351
Net loss		—			—			—		—		—		—			(52,965	)		(52,965	)
Balance at June 30, 2021		—		$	—			47,946,996	$	48	$	538,109	$	3		$	(132,764	)	$	405,396

Balance at December 31, 2021		—		$	—			48,511,735	$	49	$	544,381	$	(228	)	$	(186,850	)	$	357,352
Exercise of stock options		—			—			143,506		—		505		—			—			505
Unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities		—			—			—		—		—		(504	)		—			(504	)
Stock-based compensation		—			—			—		—		4,203		—			—			4,203
Net loss		—			—			—		—		—		—			(30,166	)		(30,166	)
Balance at March 31, 2022		—		$	—			48,655,241	$	49	$	549,089	$	(732	)	$	(217,016	)	$	331,390
Exercise of stock options		—			—			29,193		—		120		—			—			120
Issuance of common stock under employee stock purchase plan		—			—			25,218		—		325		—			—			325
Unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities		—			—			—		—		—		(206	)		—			(206	)
Stock-based compensation		—			—			—		—		5,650		—			—			5,650
Net loss		—			—			—		—		—		—			(40,946	)		(40,946	)
Balance at June 30, 2022		—		$	—			48,709,652	$	49	$	555,184	$	(938	)	$	(257,962	)	$	296,333

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Verve Therapeutics, Inc.

Condensed consolidated statements of cash flows


	Six months ended June 30,
(unaudited, in thousands)	2022			2021
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss	$	(71,112	)	$	(66,228	)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation		1,162			651
Non-cash lease expense		999			865
Amortization of premium on marketable securities		1,231			356
Stock-based compensation		9,853			2,021
Change in fair value of antidilution rights		—