Novartis' new heart drug fails its big trial

For years, doctors hoped lowering Lp(a) would prevent heart attacks. Lp(a) is an inherited, cholesterol-like particle that raises heart risk for millions. Diet and exercise can't change it. On Sept. 4, Novartis said its drug pelacarsen failed to prove that theory. Patients' Lp(a) levels dropped as planned. Their actual risk of heart attacks and strokes did not.

Novartis isn't the only company chasing this idea. Amgen and Eli Lilly both have their own Lp(a)-lowering drugs in late-stage trials, betting on the same basic theory. Pelacarsen's failure raises a bigger question than just one drug's fate. It's the first real test of whether lowering Lp(a) actually helps patients. Not just whether a drug can lower the number. Novartis' own release says the lower Lp(a) levels alone weren't enough. They didn't lower patients' actual heart risk in this trial.

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Will Amgen and Lilly's drugs succeed where Novartis just failed? Nobody knows yet. Their trials use similar drugs but aren't identical, so pelacarsen's failure doesn't automatically doom the others. Still, doctors who were confident this whole approach would work now have real reason to doubt it. The next Lp(a) trial results are expected from Amgen and Lilly in the coming months. They'll be watched far more closely than they would have been last week.