Eli Lilly & Co. agreed to buy gene-editing biotech company Verve Therapeutics Inc. for $1.3 billion, the drugmaker’s latest investment in an experimental medicine that could fuel its long-term growth.

The deal centers around a medicine that could “shift the treatment paradigm for cardiovascular disease,” Lilly said, but also follows a yearslong decline in Verve’s share price amid skepticism over the need for such a therapy.

Shares of Verve Therapeutics skyrocketed 75% Tuesday morning after Eli Lilly announced that it would acquire the gene-editing startup for about $1.3 billion.