Novartis cholesterol drug pelacarsen fails to improve cardiovascular outcomes in Phase 3 trial
Novartis announced its experimental drug pelacarsen, developed with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, failed to significantly improve cardiovascular outcomes in a Phase 3 trial of 8,323 patients, despite lowering Lp(a) levels. The miss is the first major setback in the race for Lp(a) treatments, affecting roughly one in five people worldwide. Novartis shares fell 14%, while Amgen and Eli Lilly shares also declined on read-through concerns. Analysts say the Lp(a) hypothesis is weakened but not disproven.
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BofA Sees Limited Damage from Novartis Pelacarsen Miss; Citi Looks to Ionis
Novartis AG's experimental drug pelacarsen failed to show a statistically significant reduction in cardiovascular events in the Phase 3 Lp(a)HORIZON study, despite lowering lipoprotein(a) levels. Bank of America analysts estimate the failure creates only low-single-digit percentage downside to Novartis' net-present-value, maintaining a Buy rating and $185 price target. BofA notes the company's diversified pipeline, including four other Phase 3 readouts expected in the second half of 2026, limits the financial impact. Citi analyst Eric Joseph expects less than 5% immediate downside for Ionis Pharmaceuticals, which discovered pelacarsen and licensed it to Novartis, citing modest market expectations. Citi maintained its Buy rating and $100 price target on Ionis, noting the result should not affect fiscal 2026 guidance. Novartis reported second-quarter 2026 sales of $14.41 billion, up 3% reported, and reaffirmed its low-single-digit constant-currency sales growth forecast for the year.
Amgen Falls 10% as Novartis Trial Failure Clouds Cholesterol Drug Class
Novartis's experimental heart drug pelacarsen failed a late-stage Phase III trial, missing its primary composite endpoint for reducing cardiovascular risk despite lowering Lp(a) levels. The failure triggered a sector-wide selloff in the Lp(a) drug class, with Amgen shares dropping 10% to $394.38 and Eli Lilly falling 2% to $1,124.77 on read-through concerns. Novartis stock tumbled 14% to $137.63. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF fell only 0.37%, indicating the pain was concentrated in biotech rather than the broad market. Citi analysts warned the Lp(a) hypothesis itself may be flawed, leaving Amgen's olpasiran in Phase 3 as the most exposed pipeline asset. The selloff occurred despite Amgen posting a positive Phase 3 readout in small cell lung cancer, highlighting how the market prices competitor risk in biotech.
Read sourceAmgen Falls 10% as Novartis Trial Failure Clouds Cholesterol Drug Class; NVS Stock Drops 14%
On September 8, 2026, Novartis announced that its experimental heart drug pelacarsen, developed with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, failed to reduce cardiovascular risk in a late-stage Phase III trial involving 8,323 patients. The drug lowered Lp(a) levels but missed its primary composite endpoint covering cardiovascular death, non-fatal heart attack, non-fatal stroke, and urgent coronary revascularization. This failure sent shockwaves through the Lp(a) drug class, causing Amgen stock to fall 10% to $394.38 and Eli Lilly shares to drop 2% to $1,124.77 on read-through concerns. Novartis stock tumbled 14% to $137.63. The broader market, measured by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, fell only 0.37%, indicating sector-specific pipeline risk repricing rather than broad economic weakness. Citi analysts warned the Lp(a) hypothesis itself may be flawed, leaving Amgen's olpasiran in Phase 3 OCEAN(a)-Outcomes as the most exposed pipeline asset. Notably, Amgen had posted a positive Phase 3 readout in small cell lung cancer on the same day, but the market focused on the competitor's failure.
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Novartis cholesterol drug failure casts doubt on multibillion-dollar race for Lp(a) treatments
Novartis announced that its experimental drug pelacarsen, developed with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, failed to significantly improve cardiovascular outcomes in a late-stage trial, despite successfully lowering levels of the harmful cholesterol Lp(a). This is the first major clinical setback in the race to develop treatments targeting Lp(a), a genetically determined cholesterol type that elevates heart attack and stroke risk and affects roughly one in five people worldwide. The failure raises uncertainty for rival drugs from Amgen (olpasiran) and Eli Lilly (lepodisiran), which use different technologies to produce deeper Lp(a) reductions. Analysts say the result weakens but does not disprove the Lp(a) hypothesis, noting that improving standards of care may make it harder for experimental drugs to prove added benefit. Novartis shares fell 3%, while Amgen and Ionis shares also dropped. The company will present full results at an upcoming medical congress.
Read sourceNovartis cholesterol drug failure casts doubt on multibillion-dollar Lp(a) race
Novartis announced that its experimental drug pelacarsen, developed with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, successfully reduced levels of the harmful cholesterol Lp(a) in a late-stage trial but failed to significantly improve cardiovascular outcomes. This is the first major clinical setback in the race to develop treatments for elevated Lp(a), a genetic condition affecting roughly one in five people worldwide with no approved targeted therapy. The failure raises the stakes for competitors Amgen and Eli Lilly, who are testing different technologies that produce deeper Lp(a) reductions. Analysts had modeled peak annual sales of $4-5 billion for pelacarsen if successful. Novartis shares fell 3%, while Amgen and Ionis shares also declined. Citi analysts noted the Lp(a) hypothesis is weakened but not disproven, and more data is needed to determine whether the failure reflects the drug's mechanism, trial design, or challenges to the entire hypothesis. Full results will be presented at an upcoming medical congress.
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