Novartis stock falls nearly 4% as heart-drug failure deepens setbacks
It had earlier halted trials of an experimental cell therapy; rival Amgen's share price also hit.
Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical company, experienced a significant drop in its stock price as a potential blockbuster heart drug, pelacarsen, failed in a final-stage study. Pelacarsen had been expected to lower levels of lipoprotein(a), a genetic risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but it did not result in a decrease in deaths, heart attacks, or strokes compared to a placebo.
The failure marked a major setback for Novartis, which had hoped the medicine would usher in a new approach to preventing cardiovascular disease. This was not the only setback for Novartis in a short period - a week prior, the company temporarily halted trials of an experimental cell therapy for autoimmune diseases after three patients died.
Novartis shares fell as much as 3.9 percent in early trading in Zurich on September 7, marking the biggest decline in over four months. Despite this setback, the company's shares have still gained 14 percent this year. Analysts remain concerned about the potential for any Lp(a)-lowering therapies to demonstrate cardiovascular benefits.
Novartis is banking on other new medicines to sustain growth as some of its key products lose patent protection. CEO Vas Narasimhan had hoped successful late-stage trials would allow the company to raise its forecast for annual sales growth of 5 to 6 percent until 2030.
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