Novartis slips as its drug fails to cut heart attack, stroke risk in late-stage trial

Novartis AG

07/09/2026 07:39

** Shares in Novartis NOVN.S fall 4% in pre-market indications after its experimental drug pelacarsen did not cut the risk of major heart attacks and strokes in patients with a genetic risk factor in a late-stage trial
** J.P. Morgan says the extremely well-controlled patients enrolled in the trial led to a challenging background for pelacarsen to be able to show an incremental reduction in cardiovascular risk, although detailed data will be needed to draw firm conclusions
** The broker says its own forecasts are unaffected by this result as they include zero contribution from the drug but the consensus sees sales of about  $1 billion in 2030
** Shares in Novartis are up 18% YTD
     

(Reporting by Paolo Laudani in Gdansk)
((Paolo.laudani@thomsonreuters.com))