Novo Nordisk has stopped two trials of a drug that aims to tame inflammation as a way to improve cardiovascular health, another blow for the approach.

The company said it had halted the HERMES and ATHENA trials of its drug, ziltivekimab, after a data monitoring committee found they were unlikely to succeed. Novo informed trial investigators on Friday.

The move follows the earlier failure of the drug in the ZEUS trial, which showed that the medicine, despite lowering markers of inflammation, did not reduce the risk of major clinical complications, including deaths and heart attacks.

Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…