Novartis jumps on surprise success of CANTOS study

With its shares up 5% at 83.85 Swiss francs by late afternoon, Novartis (NOVN: VX) led gainers on the SIX Exchange, after the pharma giant said its canakinumab helped reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients who had previously suffered a heart attack.

Novartis announced top-line results from the global Phase III CANTOS study investigating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of ACZ885 (canakinumab) in combination with standard of care in people with a prior heart attack and inflammatory atherosclerosis. With more than 10,000 patients enrolled in the study over the last six years, CANTOS is one of the largest and longest-running clinical trials in Novartis' history, the company noted.

The CANTOS study met the primary endpoint, demonstrating that when used in combination with standard of care ACZ885 reduces the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction and non-fatal stroke, in patients with a prior heart attack and inflammatory atherosclerosis. The full data from the study will be submitted for presentation at a medical congress and for peer reviewed publication later this year.