Health

STAT+: Despite Novo drug’s failure, cardiologists say they will still pursue anti-inflammatories

Read full article at source ↗

Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 08/11/2026, 05:07:23 UTC.

Briefings

A clinical trial by Novo Nordisk failed to show that its anti-inflammatory drug ziltivekimab prevented heart attacks, strokes, or deaths in patients with severe illness, despite lowering levels of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6. The study, called ZEUS, was halted after data monitoring committees found the results unlikely to succeed. This finding comes after the drug was previously shown to reduce two biomarkers of inflammation in July, but the lack of clinical benefit led to the termination of two additional trials.

Key points

• The ZEUS trial showed that the monoclonal antibody ziltivekimab reduced levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) but did not prevent serious heart events in patients with severe illness.
• The Novo Nordisk study was halted after data monitoring committees found in September that the results were unlikely to succeed, leading to the termination of two other trials called HERMES and ATHENA.

Context

Cardiologists are pursuing anti-inflammatories despite the failure of the experimental drug in the ZEUS trial, which showed no reduction in serious heart events despite lowering IL-6 levels. The study was halted after data monitoring committees found in September that the results were unlikely to succeed.

Limitations

Evidence is limited to the specific findings of the ZEUS trial and the subsequent termination of two other trials; no additional background or context is supplied beyond the provided text.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 08/11/2026, 05:12:41 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

View archived briefing on IPFS
bafybeigbwvazpwvmzpsnhmke5rso73ipqylccg6gp7bkn6fnjr6odt4pou