NVS, IONS, AMGN Stocks Drop After-Hours — What’s Driving The Selloff?

• Pelacarsen had been one of Novartis’s biggest late-stage bets in heart disease as it works to replace older blockbusters facing generic competition.
• Ionis developed pelacarsen and licensed worldwide rights to Novartis.
• Amgen shares also slipped 5% after-hours on the news, as the company is developing a similar drug, olpasiran, which is currently in late-stage trials. 

Shares of Novartis (NVS) sank after-hours on Friday after a closely watched heart-disease trial failed to show that lowering a stubborn inherited risk factor actually prevented heart attacks and strokes.

U.S.-listed Novartis stock (NVS) closed at $159.99, then slipped as much as about 7% in after-hours trading. Partner Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS), which licensed the drug, also fell roughly 10% after the close.

Trial Missed The Main Goal

The late-stage Lp(a)HORIZON study tested pelacarsen in 8,323 people who already had cardiovascular disease and high lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a)—a genetically driven blood fat that diet and lifestyle barely change. About one in five people worldwide have elevated Lp(a), and there is still no approved medicine that targets it.

Pelacarsen did what it was designed to do: it lowered Lp(a). It did not, however, cut the combined risk of cardiovascular death, non-fatal heart attack, non-fatal stroke, or urgent procedures to open a blocked heart artery versus placebo. Patients were already on standard treatments such as cholesterol and blood-pressure medicines. Full results will be presented at a medical meeting, the company said.

“These are not the results we hoped for,” said Shreeram Aradhye, Novartis’s chief medical officer, adding that the data still help scientists understand whether cutting Lp(a) reduces leftover heart risk when other factors are already controlled.

What It Means For Novartis

Pelacarsen had been one of the company’s biggest late-stage bets in heart disease. The miss removes a potential growth engine just as Novartis works to replace older blockbusters facing generic competition.

The pipeline is not empty. Days earlier, Novartis’s remibrutinib succeeded in two large multiple-sclerosis trials, lifting shares. Other late-stage programs, including ianalumab in autoimmune disease and radioligand cancer drugs, remain on the calendar. 

Blow To Ionis, Amgen

Ionis developed pelacarsen and licensed worldwide rights to Novartis. A win would have brought milestones and royalties. The failure is the second cardiovascular outcomes disappointment this year for Ionis, following a miss in an ATTR cardiomyopathy trial in July.

Amgen shares also slipped 5% after hours over the news, as the company is developing olpasiran, also for inherited high lipoprotein(a) in people at risk of heart attack and stroke. The drug is currently in late-stage trials. 

How Did Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around NVS remained ‘bullish’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume was ‘high.’ 

Sentiment around IONS, meanwhile, rose from ‘neutral’ to ‘bullish’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume increased from ‘low’ to ‘high’ levels, likely owing to FDA approval for its drug Zanvastro as the first treatment for Alexander disease on Thursday. 

While NVS stock has gained 16% year-to-date, IONS fell 27%. AMGN added 34%. 

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