Novartis' Pelacarsen Fails Late-Stage Trial, Rippling Through Lp(a) Drug Race

Product / TechRegulation Impact 4
โดย The Motley Fool·USCH·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Novartis announced on Sept. 4, 2026, that its late-stage clinical study of pelacarsen failed to meet its primary endpoint of reducing the risk of cardiovascular events compared to placebo, a setback that rippled through the race to develop drugs lowering lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a). Pelacarsen, an antisense oligonucleotide discovered by Ionis Pharmaceuticals and licensed to Novartis in 2019, did lower Lp(a) levels but did not achieve a statistically significant reduction in cardiovascular events; analysts had expected peak annual sales of $4 billion to $5 billion had it succeeded. Amgen, which is also developing an Lp(a)-lowering drug, saw its share price sink 10% and has not recovered, while Eli Lilly's shares declined only about 3%, a muted reaction analysts attribute partly to Lilly's different approach with lepodisiran, which achieved a greater Lp(a) reduction in phase 2 testing and is being studied in a broader patient group. Lilly's dominance in diabetes and obesity also cushions it: the company generated $23 billion in the second quarter of 2026 alone, with roughly $14.9 billion of that from type 2 diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss therapy Zepbound. Novartis said full trial data will be presented at an upcoming medical congress, and while the pelacarsen flop may raise doubts about lepodisiran, Lilly's pipeline also includes base-editing therapy VERVE-102 from its 2025 acquisition of Verve Therapeutics, which delivered sustained PCSK9 and LDL cholesterol reductions over an 18-month follow-up in a Phase 1 trial.

Impact on stocks 5

Biotech & Genomic Medicine▼ · 5 stocks
Novartis AG
NOVN
▼ NegativeTechnologyrelevance

Novartis' pelacarsen failed to meet the primary cardiovascular endpoint in late-stage trial, dashing a drug analysts expected to peak at $4-5 billion in annual sales.

Amgen Inc
AMGN
▼ NegativeTechnologyrelevance

Amgen's rival Lp(a)-lowering drug program is cast in doubt after Novartis' pelacarsen failed its late-stage cardiovascular endpoint, sending Amgen shares down 10%.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc
IONS
▼ NegativeTechnologyrelevance

Ionis discovered pelacarsen and licensed it to Novartis; the late-stage failure of its Lp(a) antisense drug is a setback for Ionis' pipeline asset.

Eli Lilly and Company
LLY
± MixedTechnologyrelevance

Lilly's lepodisiran faces raised doubts from the pelacarsen flop, though its greater phase 2 Lp(a) reduction and broader study muted the share decline.

Theme Impact 3

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