How Did a Heart Drug With So Much Promise Fall So Flat? — SkimNews
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- Novartis completed the first of three large clinical trials on Lp(a)-lowering drugs, announcing results late Friday afternoon after markets closed: the drug slashed Lp(a) levels by 80% but failed to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
- Lp(a), a blood protein linked to heart attacks, is elevated in roughly 20% of Americans, and people with the highest levels face double or triple the heart attack risk, according to the article.
- Cardiologists routinely see heart attack patients whose cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and smoking status are all controlled — yet who have high Lp(a), making the protein a long-pursued treatment target.
- Dr. John Alexander, a cardiologist at Duke, told the article 'There's something we don't understand here,' capturing the field's confusion after the trial failure.
- Three companies were racing to develop Lp(a)-lowering drugs, with cardiologists hoping any successful candidate could prove as important as statins — a benchmark the Novartis result now undermines.
Why it matters: Roughly 20% of Americans with elevated Lp(a) — who face double or triple heart attack risk — lose a hoped-for treatment path, and the first of three major trials showing zero cardiovascular benefit despite an 80% protein reduction forces researchers to question whether Lp(a) actually causes heart attacks.
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