A setback to the Swiss pharmaceutical company’s attempts to revitalize its therapeutic pipeline occurred on Friday when Novartis (NOVN.S), opens new tab, announced that its experimental medication pelacarsen did not reduce the incidence of major heart attacks and strokes in patients with a hereditary risk factor in a late-stage trial.
As Novartis navigates one of its steepest patent expiries and the loss of revenue from its popular heart medicine Entresto, the study’s findings are one of several tests for the company’s late-stage drug pipeline this year.
Aftermarket trade saw a 5% decrease in Novartis’s U.S.-listed shares and a 12% decline in partner Ionis stock Pharmaceuticals (IONS.O).
“These are not the results we hoped for, but they provide important evidence that advances scientific understanding of the relationship between Lp(a) lowering and cardiovascular outcomes,” stated Shreeram Aradhye, chief medical officer at Novartis.
Investors are concentrating on pelacarsen, the anti-inflammatory medication remibrutinib, and the gene treatment del-desiran as potential long-term growth drivers since, if approved, they might collectively produce peak annual sales of over $10 billion. Remibrutinib was successful in a late-stage study of patients with a kind of multiple sclerosis earlier this week, and analysts predict that its peak yearly sales could reach $9 billion.
A monthly subcutaneous injection called Pelacarsen reduces lipoprotein (a), also known as Lp(a), a form of genetically inherited cholesterol that has been connected to an increased risk of heart disease.
The experiment was the first late-stage investigation to determine if the medication can prevent heart attacks and strokes in individuals with non-inherited “bad cholesterol” that is currently under control. Over 8,000 patients with elevated Lp levels were tested over its more than six-year run (a).
