Rival Lp(a) drug pelacarsen misses its heart-outcomes goal, putting the spotlight on olpasiran's Phase 3

Amgen/Olpasiran

Novartis reported that pelacarsen, an Lp(a)-lowering drug licensed from Ionis, did lower Lp(a) but did not reduce a combined count of cardiac deaths, heart attacks, strokes and urgent artery-opening procedures in the 8,323-patient Lp(a)HORIZON trial. The miss raises the stakes for olpasiran's own outcomes trial, OCEAN(a)-Outcomes, now due to finish in 2028.

• Patients had established heart disease and Lp(a) of at least 70 mg/dL, on standard therapy.
• Primary endpoint (four-part heart-event composite) was not met in the overall population.
• Full data are to be presented at a medical congress.
• Olpasiran uses a different mechanism (siRNA, one shot every 12 weeks) and cut Lp(a) by about 97-101% at its higher doses in Phase 2.