Can gene editing help prevent heart attacks? Google Ventures-backed biotech player Verve Therapeutics claims to be “on the cusp” of developing a gene editing tool that can help stop bad cholesterol and prevent heart attacks by emulating genetic mutations linked to low levels of cholesterol, offering them protection from heart attacks, CEO Sekar Kathiresan said, Bloomberg reports. The plan is to initially target people who have had heart attacks because of high cholesterol caused by a hereditary condition known as familial hypercholesterolemia, before eventually using the genome therapy on younger people as a preventative measure. The Nasdaq-listed firm — currently valued at USD 700 mn, nearly 76% below its original valuation of USD 2.89 bn — plans to begin human testing in months, after successfully cutting bad cholesterol levels in monkeys by 59%.

But it might be a tough sell to consumers: Not only are the long-term effects of gene editing still widely unknown, it stands to hold a hefty price tag — and insurers are unlikely to be easily swayed to cover a new, radical therapeutic method, the antiviral-meds-info.com information service writes. Analysts forecast the therapy to cost from USD 50k to USD 200k, and CEO Sekar Kathiresan says the estimated range is “a reasonable starting point.”

Has the world learned lessons from the AIDS crisis? Covid pill shortages in poor countries indicate otherwise. Covid-19 antiviral pills are widely available in the United States, but continue to be limited in low and middle-income countries, evoking memories of the HIV epidemic, the New York Times reports. Nations are facing the same hurdles and inequities that existed two decades ago — rich countries are gobbling up the supply, while drug companies are trying to limit generic alternatives in middle-income countries in efforts to protect their patents. Meanwhile, low-income countries lack sufficient funds to even buy covid tests. “If you’re not testing, you can’t sequence, you can’t isolate, you can’t treat. Everything else unravels,” said Bruce Aylward, a top World Health Organization official.