Cardiovascular disease

September has been a rough month already for Novo Nordisk, which canned two more late-stage trials of its embattled IL-6 inhibitor, and Novartis, which took Phase 3 hits in both cardiovascular and muscular dystrophy indications; Ultragenyx’s big bet in Angelman syndrome failed to yield benefit in Phase 3 but Ionis’ Pharmaceuticals nabbed the first targeted approval for Alexander disease; and on the business side, biopharma investment is back in a big way.

The failure of Novartis’ pelacarsen to translate its Lp(a)-lowering effects to clinical benefits “marks a meaningful setback” for other companies taking a similar approach to cardiovascular risk, analysts say—including Eli Lilly and Amgen.

BMS is barreling toward a clinical trial readout that an H.C. Wainwright analyst believes could contribute to the return of mergers between mega-cap drugmakers.

Safety and dosing are likely to be “key differentiators” for Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals as it looks to challenge Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ lead in the severe hypertriglyceridemia market.

AstraZeneca and Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ data drop divulging more details from its highly watched Phase 3 transthyretin silencer trial “further confuses the picture” for Wainua when combined with the standard of care for ATTR-CM, analysts say.

With the approval, Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro becomes the first dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist indicated to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes.

BridgeBio Pharma’s transthyretin amyloidosis medicine Attruby is off to a strong launch, while Alnylam lowered full-year sales guidance for competitor Amvuttra.

Patients treated with Tenax Therapeutics’ heart failure drug TNX-103 did not show significantly better functional performance—though Leerink analysts found biomarker improvements and subgroup analyses in elderly and more severe patients “very encouraging.”

Braveheart Bio has emerged on the Nasdaq with an upsized expected initial public offering—marking the public entrance of the twenty-second biotech this year.

BioSpace NextGen honorees made up one-third of the U.S. biotechs that have publicly debuted in 2026. Most are looking for biopharma professionals to join their teams.