Novartis Bookends October With Two IgAN Successes

Oct 30 2023

• By Elizabeth Cairns

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A Phase III hit moves atrasentan a step closer to the market but the drug will have to sell very well to justify the billions Novartis paid for its originator.

Novartis HQ — • Source: Novartis

Two out of three ain’t bad, especially when the third is still in play. A hit in Phase III for Novartis AG’s second IgA nephropathy (IgAN) candidate, atrasentan, slots neatly next to the similar showing of iptacopan in the same disease disclosed at the start of the month.

Key Takeaways

Atrasentan follows Novartis’s in-house iptacopan with a top-line hit in IgA nephropathy

Iptacopan was developed by Novartis itself, but atrasentan was bought in, via the $3.2bn acquisition of Chinook Therapeutics Inc....

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