AstraZeneca and Ionis report unexpected failure of heart disease drug in trial

AstraZeneca and Ionis disclosed that their collaborative heart disease drug did not meet primary endpoints in a recent trial, marking a surprise setback.

The companies detailed the trial results, noting lack of efficacy and that the failure was unexpected given earlier data. Alnylam, which has a competing RNA-based therapy, is closely watching the outcome.

In other biotech news, Roivant announced regulatory approval for an autoimmune therapy, and Cytokinetics released complete data from its study of a treatment for a heart condition.

The announcements were highlighted at a European Society of Cardiology meeting, and former Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne responded to renewed allegations of research misconduct.