Friday’s announcement said pelacarsen—Novartis’s experimental heart drug once seen as a breakthrough—failed its clinical trial, with the company giving no further details.
Pelacarsen targets lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), a protein long viewed as a powerful heart-disease risk factor that many researchers expected could be the next major preventive target.
Cardiologists reacted with shock because studies short of randomized trials had suggested lowering Lp(a) should reduce heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths.
The setback clouds hopes for patients who control cholesterol, blood pressure and other risks yet still face cardiovascular events, and dents expectations that Lp(a) drugs could rival statins.