Health
STAT+: Failure of Novartis Lp(a) drug raises questions about cardiovascular strategy
Publication: STAT
Author: Elizabeth Cooney and Matthew Herper
Source published: 07/11/2026, 14:50:00 UTC
Briefing created: 08/11/2026, 05:10:11 UTC
Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 08/11/2026, 05:07:23 UTC.
Briefings
Novartis's pelacarsen successfully reduced Lp(a) levels in a Phase 3 trial but failed to prevent heart attacks, strokes, or deaths in the HORIZON trial over five years. The study was funded by Novartis and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, revealing a gap between biomarker improvement and clinical outcome improvement.
Key points
- The Phase 3 trial showed pelacarsen significantly lowered Lp(a) levels compared to placebo.
- The HORIZON trial found no difference in serious cardiovascular outcomes between the drug and placebo groups.
Context
Lipoprotein(a) is a genetic risk factor for cardiovascular disease affecting 1 in 5 people. The HORIZON trial followed nearly five-year participants to assess outcomes.
Limitations
The evidence is limited to the HORIZON trial results; no data on long-term follow-up beyond five years is provided. The study was funded by Novartis, and the source article does not specify the authors or institutional affiliations of the researchers.
Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 08/11/2026, 05:10:11 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.
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