Cardiologists say they intend to keep investigating anti-inflammatory treatments for heart disease even after a drug from Novo failed in a clinical study, STAT reported on Saturday. The setback has not deterred specialists from viewing inflammation as a target worth pursuing, according to the outlet.
Coverage of the results also pointed to broader questions about how such trials are designed and interpreted. Medscape examined the "negative" ZEUS and HORIZON trials, which tested drugs aimed at lowering IL-6 and Lp(a) respectively, and drew lessons from both. Separately, Mirage News reported that inflammation remains a treatment target despite the outcome of the ZEUS trial.
The reports indicate that the failure of a single drug candidate is being treated by researchers as a narrower finding rather than a verdict on the whole approach. The focus now is on what the trial results reveal about the underlying biology and about the way future studies of anti-inflammatory therapies should be structured.
Novo's drug was not named in the available reporting, and the specific results of the trial were not detailed in the source material.
What to watch next: how researchers and drugmakers adjust the design of upcoming anti-inflammatory cardiovascular trials in light of the ZEUS and HORIZON findings.
