DUBLIN – Novartis AG is making a $9.7 billion bet that the economics of an siRNA-based drug can better those of monoclonal antibodies and thus provide it with a dominant position in a major but still emerging cardiovascular drug market. The Basel, Switzerland-based pharma made an $85 per share offer for The Medicines Co., which has taken inclisiran, an siRNA-based inhibitor of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) to the brink of an approval in reducing the risk of a cardiovascular event – heart attack or stroke – in high-risk patients with cardiovascular disease or high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) who are inadequately controlled on current therapies.

CAR T cells engineered to target fibroblast activating protein (FAP) could reverse cardiac fibrosis and restore cardiac function in mice, researchers have reported in the Sept. 12, 2019, issue of Nature.

The failure of Novartis AG's Entresto in a phase III clinical trial staggered the stock (NASDAQ:NVS) somewhat Monday, down just 1.14%, but the real trauma may well be the loss of roughly $2.5 billion in anticipated sales.

LONDON – Monitoring low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) fails to identify those who are at highest risk for heart attack or death, according to a new study that used alternative biomarkers to assess the risk of further events.

Pharmaceutical and life sciences giant Bayer AG scored another indication for its MRI contrast agent, Gadavist (gadobutrol) injection, this time in adults with suspected coronary artery disease. The FDA nod makes Gadavist the first and only contrast agent approved for use in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging.

LONDON – Monitoring low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) fails to identify those who are at the highest risk for heart attack or death, according to a new study that used alternative biomarkers to assess the risk of further events.

Adding I.V. sildenafil – the active ingredient in Viagra – to inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) therapy for newborns with persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) failed to achieve a statistically significant reduction in treatment failure rates or time on iNO vs. iNO alone in the first part of a phase III study sponsored by Pfizer Inc.