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Novartis Lp(a) drug fails closely watched ph. 3 trial

Published

5 September 2026

Topic

opportunities

Sectors

Biotech

Source

Read at fiercebiotech.com

Verified

Fusion42 · 5 September 2026 · Fusion42 review

Novartis' phase 3 trial of pelacarsen, a drug aimed at lowering Lp(a) to reduce cardiovascular risk, failed to show a reduction in major cardiovascular events despite lowering Lp(a) levels. This outcome raises questions about the efficacy threshold needed for Lp(a) reduction and impacts ongoing development of similar RNA interference therapies by Amgen and Eli Lilly.

This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Biotech.

◆ The Wire takeaway

Your cardiovascular biotech project must now rethink target thresholds for Lp(a) reduction to show clinical benefit. The door remains open but shrinking for therapies in this niche, pushing you to innovate beyond antisense oligonucleotide approaches.

Coverage

1 source · 5 Sep 2026

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BiotechLp(a)cardiovascularclinical-trialsdrug-failureRNAi