Sept 4 (Reuters) – Ionis Pharmaceuticals and partner Novartis’ experimental drug to lower high levels of a cholesterol-carrying particle in heart patients failed in a late-stage trial, the companies said on Friday.
Shares of Ionis fell 6% in aftermarket trading.
The drug, pelacarsen, did not meet the main goal of reducing the risk of events such as death from heart disease, heart attack, stroke, or needing an urgent procedure to restore blood flow to the heart, when compared with placebo.
Consistent with previous studies, pelacarsen lowered levels of the cholesterol-carrying particle lipoprotein(a) in patients, the companies said.
Investors have been on the lookout for data from Novartis’ three experimental drugs – pelacarsen, multiple sclerosis drug remibrutinib and genetic therapy del-desiran – which together represent more than $10 billion in potential peak annual sales and are drivers of the Swiss drugmaker’s long-term growth.
“Although pelacarsen substantially lowered lipoprotein(a) levels consistent with previous studies, we are disappointed that this did not translate to cardiovascular risk reduction,” said Ionis CEO Brett Monia.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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