Novo Nordisk halts two heart trials of ziltivekimab

Novo Nordisk is better known for its weight-loss drugs. But it's also chasing a harder problem: stopping heart attacks by calming inflammation. That bet just got weaker. The company stopped two late-stage trials of its drug ziltivekimab this week. An independent committee reviewing the data decided they were unlikely to succeed. Both trials tested the drug in people with heart failure.

This isn't ziltivekimab's first stumble. An earlier trial called ZEUS already showed a similar problem. The drug failed to meaningfully cut heart attacks, strokes, or deaths in patients with kidney disease. Novo hasn't given up entirely. A third trial, ARTEMIS, is still running. It tests the drug in patients right after a heart attack. Results are expected in the first half of 2027. The company isn't alone in struggling here. Novartis' own anti-inflammatory heart drug, pelacarsen, also missed its main goal in a big trial this month.

Keep reading — what to watch

Is targeting inflammation ever going to pan out for heart disease? Scientists have suspected for years that inflammation, not just cholesterol, drives heart attacks. But drug after drug built on that theory has come up short in real trials. If ARTEMIS also fails next year, that idea may need a real rethink. Not just a tweak to which drug tests it.