Why two promising heart drugs flopped and what’s next

The Readout LOUD Why two promising heart drugs flopped and what’s next Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Adam Feuerstein, Elaine Chen, and Allison DeAngelisSept. 10, 2026 Adam Feuerstein[email protected]Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard.

You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54.Elaine Chen[email protected]Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector. She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.Allison DeAngelis[email protected]Allison covers what hot startups are getting up to, and who’s financing them.

She is also co-host of the weekly biotech podcast, “The Readout Loud.” You can reach Allison on Signal at AllisonDeAngelis.01. On this week’s episode of “The Readout LOUD”: The pharma industry invested billions of dollars to develop drugs heralded as the next era in the treatment of heart disease — but why did they fail? And what does this mean for the development of new heart medicines moving forward?

Cardiologist and biotech entrepreneur Ethan Weiss joins us to discuss the surprising failures and long-term implications of two large clinical trials involving drugs developed from Novo Nordisk and Novartis, respectively.Advertisement Plus, we have a recap of biotech news we missed while on hiatus, including a spurt of FDA drug approvals and the next big thing in cancer treatment from Merck and Moderna. Be sure to sign up for “The Readout LOUD” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. biotechnology, Cancer, cardiovascular disease, FDA, Merck, Moderna, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pharmaceuticals Submit a correction requestReprints Adam Feuerstein Senior Writer, Biotech Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology.

He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54. Elaine Chen National Biotech Reporter Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector.

She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70. Allison DeAngelis Biotech Startups and Venture Capital Reporter Allison covers what hot startups are getting up to, and who’s financing them.

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