Novo Nordisk halted two additional late-stage trials of its experimental cardiovascular drug ziltivekimab after a data monitoring committee found them unlikely to succeed, following the July failure of the ZEUS study. The setbacks deepen the Danish drugmaker's reliance on its Wegovy and Ozempic obesity and diabetes franchise, leaving the ARTEMIS trial, with results due in the first half of 2027, as the program's remaining catalyst.
Novo Nordisk scrapped two more late-stage studies of ziltivekimab, its experimental heart drug, after an independent panel judged neither likely to succeed — the third failure for the program in two months and a fresh setback to the Danish drugmaker's push beyond its blockbuster obesity and diabetes franchise.
The company ended the HERMES and ATHENA trials in heart-failure patients after a data monitoring committee found a "low likelihood" that either would reach a different outcome from the earlier failed ZEUS study, a Novo spokesperson said. Novo informed trial investigators on Sept. 4, and both were evaluating the IL-6-targeting therapy against placebo in patients with heart failure and inflammation.
The decision follows the July failure of ZEUS, in which ziltivekimab — despite lowering markers of inflammation — did not reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, including death, non-fatal heart attack and non-fatal stroke, compared with placebo. HERMES was designed to measure time to a first heart-failure event such as cardiovascular death or hospitalization, while ATHENA tracked quality-of-life and other heart-failure-specific factors.
The collapse of the cardiovascular program leaves Novo leaning more heavily on Wegovy and Ozempic, the GLP-1 medicines that drove the company's valuation past 3 trillion Danish kroner before competition and pricing pressure eroded its premium. Ziltivekimab, a once-monthly subcutaneous injection, was seen as a route into the broader inflammation market after Novo paid $725 million upfront to acquire Massachusetts-based Corvidia Therapeutics in 2020.
One trial remains: ARTEMIS, testing ziltivekimab in patients recovering from a heart attack, will continue as planned with results expected in the first half of 2027. The broader inflammatory-disease hypothesis has also come under pressure after Novartis' experimental cardiovascular drug failed a late-stage trial on Sept. 4, raising questions about the mechanism both companies were pursuing.
The halts narrow Novo's near-term pipeline options outside metabolic disease, where it already faces intensifying competition from Eli Lilly's tirzepatide franchise. Investors will watch the ARTEMIS readout next year as the clearest test of whether ziltivekimab can still justify the Corvidia acquisition, and whether Novo can reduce its dependence on a single therapeutic franchise.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
