Novartis agrees licensing for cardiovascular treatments

Novartis Pharmaceuticals has announced it has reached licensing agreements with Ionis Pharmaceuticals and its affiliate Akcea Therapeutics for the use of two novel treatments that could significantly reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with elevated lipids.

The two investigational antisense therapies – called AKCEA-APO(a)-L Rx and AKCEA-APOCIII-L Rx – have been developed by Ionis and have the potential to lower lipoproteins known as Lp(a) and ApoCIII by up to 90 percent and significantly reduce cardiovascular risk in high-risk patient populations.

Elevated levels of Lp(a) collect in the arteries and gradually narrow them. This limits blood supply to the heart, brain, kidneys and legs, leading to increased risk of coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, thrombosis and stroke.

People with elevated levels of ApoCIII have high triglycerides, which are associated with multiple metabolic abnormalities such as insulin resistance and/or metabolic syndrome.

Vasant Narasimhan, global head of drug development and chief medical officer at Novartis, said: "The importance of predictive biomarkers in achieving successful cardiovascular outcomes will also be essential in the future payer environment. We look forward to working with Ionis and Akcea to develop both treatments."

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