Novo Nordisk Halts Two Ziltivekimab Cardiovascular Trials — SkimNews
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- Novo Nordisk halted the HERMES and ATHENA trials of ziltivekimab after a data monitoring committee found they were unlikely to succeed, notifying trial investigators on Friday.
- The two halted trials were testing ziltivekimab, a drug designed to tame inflammation as a pathway to improving cardiovascular health.
- The ZEUS trial had previously shown ziltivekimab lowered markers of inflammation but failed to reduce the risk of major clinical complications, including deaths and heart attacks.
- The HERMES and ATHENA stops mark a third consecutive trial setback for the inflammation-targeting cardiovascular strategy at Novo Nordisk, deepening doubts about translating biomarker gains into patient outcomes.
Why it matters: Novo Nordisk has now seen three trials of ziltivekimab fail to convert inflammation reduction into fewer deaths or heart attacks, a pattern that erodes confidence in the broader inflammation-as-cardiovascular-disease thesis. The company loses a lead late-stage asset in a space where it is not the established player, while researchers and investors banking on inflammation-targeting cardio drugs lose a major test case.
Ask SkimNews
