Novartis Lp(a) drug misses heart outcomes, raising strategy questions

· Health · United States

Novartis' experimental cardiovascular drug lowered a risk marker for heart disease but did not reduce the chance of heart attack or stroke in its pivotal trial, data presented at the American Heart Association conference showed. STAT described the result as a "medical mystery" at the meeting. Endpoints reported that the failure, alongside a similar surprising miss for a Novo Nordisk heart drug, was spelled out at #AHA26; the Novo drug that knocked 9% off its share price in July had almost no effect in its trial. The results challenge the thesis that lowering Lp(a), a genetic cholesterol-like risk marker, translates into fewer cardiovascular events, and raise questions about Novartis' cardiovascular strategy.

Why it matters：The miss questions whether Lp(a)-lowering actually prevents heart attacks, a multibillion-dollar bet for several drugmakers and a large ongoing clinical research program.

Key points

  • The drug lowered an Lp(a) risk marker but did not cut heart attack or stroke risk.
  • The data were presented at the American Heart Association conference.
  • A Novo Nordisk heart drug showed a similar surprising miss, per Endpoints.

Sources (original reporting)

More stories from this day