A closely watched cardiovascular drug from Novartis failed in a pivotal study, the company said Friday, a major blow to the firm and to efforts to target a common heart disease risk factor. 

The drug, called pelacarsen, had shown in earlier trials that it could drastically lower levels of what’s called Lp(a), a little blob of lipids and proteins that at elevated concentrations increases the likelihood of severe heart problems.

But Novartis said that in the Phase 3 HORIZON trial, pelacarsen failed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death or emergencies like heart attacks or stroke compared to placebo.

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