Novartis cholesterol drug setback raises stakes for Amgen, Eli Lilly

Novartis has experienced a failure in its cholesterol drug development, according to reports. The setback has significant implications for the multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical race to develop treatments targeting Lp(a), a lipoprotein linked to cardiovascular risk.

The failure raises the stakes for competing drugmakers Amgen and Eli Lilly, which are both pursuing strategies to lower Lp(a) levels and establish clinical evidence that such reductions result in fewer heart attacks and strokes.