Novartis stock slides as late-stage trial for experimental heart drug misses key goal

On Monday, shares of Novartis AG declined by more than 3%, following the company's Friday announcement that its experimental medication pelacarsen did not lower the risk of heart attacks, strokes, or other serious cardiovascular events in a major late-stage study, delivering a blow to its cardiovascular drug pipeline.

The Lp(a)HORIZON trial, which enrolled over 8,000 patients with high levels of lipoprotein(a) — a type of blood fat tied to heart disease — failed to reach its primary endpoint.

Even though pelacarsen successfully reduced concentrations of the blood fat, this decrease did not translate into fewer heart attacks, strokes, or other cardiovascular incidents.

The outcome also prompts questions about other drugs being developed to lower lipoprotein(a), including treatment candidates from Amgen and Eli Lilly. No medication specifically targeting this blood fat is currently approved, despite the condition affecting approximately one in five people globally.

"These are not the results we hoped for," said Shreeram Aradhye, Novartis' chief medical officer, adding that the data still "advances scientific understanding of the relationship between Lp(a) lowering and cardiovascular outcomes." Full findings will be disclosed at a future medical congress.