On September 8, Novartis AG declined 4.16% overnight, trading at $153.34 per share. The drop was driven by the failure of the company's Phase III Lp(a)HORIZON trial, in which pelacarsen did not meet its primary endpoint of reducing the risk of cardiovascular events compared with placebo.

Pelacarsen had been widely regarded as a potential blockbuster heart disease therapy for Novartis. The clinical setback marks the second time within a single week that a major late-stage candidate from the company has failed, intensifying investor concerns. Following the announcement, shares fell as much as 7% in after-hours trading on September 5 before stabilizing. The fallout extended beyond Novartis, with Amgen — which is developing a similar cardiovascular drug — also seeing its shares drop nearly 6% in post-market trading. Novo Nordisk subsequently terminated two of its own cardiovascular clinical trials.

Novartis is relying on a robust pipeline of new drugs to sustain growth as several of its flagship products face upcoming patent expirations. The company recently reported Q2 net sales of $14.41 billion, beating analyst estimates, while core EPS of $2.41 was roughly flat year-over-year.

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