Novartis Pelacarsen Trial Failure Deals Blow to Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Hopes
Novartis (NVS.US) has faced its second major clinical trial setback within a week, this time with its potential blockbuster heart disease drug pelacarsen. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant announced that despite lowering levels of lipoprotein(a), a key risk marker for cardiovascular disease, the drug did not significantly reduce cardiovascular deaths, heart attacks, or strokes compared to a placebo.
The failure raises doubts about whether therapies that lower lipoprotein(a) can ultimately yield clinical cardiovascular benefits. This setback comes as Novartis had positioned pelacarsen as a potential breakthrough in treating hereditary cardiovascular risk.
Shares of Novartis fell by over 7% after regular trading on Friday, and Amgen (AMGN.US), which develops similar heart medications, dropped nearly 6% after hours. Jefferies analyst Michael Leuchten noted that the market's negative reaction might be exaggerated, but emphasized that there would still be questions about which patients would truly benefit from such a therapy.