Novo’s canned heart disease trials, Novartis’ clinical fails, first approval for Alexander disease

Summary

Novo Nordisk terminated two late-stage trials of an IL-6 inhibitor for heart disease while Novartis encountered Phase 3 failures in cardiovascular and muscular dystrophy programs. Ionis Pharmaceuticals achieved the first targeted FDA approval for Alexander disease, and Ultragenyx's Angelman syndrome Phase 3 trial failed to meet efficacy goals.