Novartis drops Ionis-discovered heart drug after late-stage trial failure

what happened

Swiss drugmaker Novartis is scaling back work on a cardiac drug originally developed by Ionis Pharmaceuticals, according to a Bloomberg report on Saturday cited by Seeking Alpha. The company said it will stop developing pelacarsen, a monthly injection, for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. A study of the drug in calcific aortic valve stenosis will go on.

In September, Novartis and Ionis shares fell after the Phase 3 Lp(a)HORIZON trial missed its primary endpoint in patients with elevated lipoprotein(a). On Saturday Novartis presented full results at the American Heart Association meeting in Chicago and in the New England Journal of Medicine. Over a median follow-up of about five years, the drug lowered serum Lp(a) but did not reduce major adverse cardiovascular events such as stroke versus placebo.

why it matters

The setback matters most for Ionis, which loses a major partner in this approach, and it also shapes expectations for rivals such as Amgen, whose olpasiran uses a similar method. The drug lowered Lp(a) without cutting cardiovascular events, a point investors will weigh across the whole class of therapies.

market impact

Ionis: loss of a key partner and a failed drug pressure the company's shares

• ▼Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares pressure down — partner stops developing its lead heart drug after a failed late-stage trial

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