The factors that could have contributed to Novartis’ Lp(a) miss

The Phase III miss by Novartis’ pelacarsen is a blow to the pharma’s first-in-class Lp(a) aspirations. Depending on what the full data show — and whether subsequent programs succeed — it could also have implications for antisense oligos, other RNA modalities, and cardiovascular R&D more broadly.

On Friday, Novartis AG (SIX:NOVN: NYSE:NVS) announced that pelacarsen, an antisense oligonucleotide targeting LPA, failed to improve cardiovascular outcomes in patients with elevated Lp(a) levels in the Phase III HORIZON secondary prevention trial...