# Amgen fell on someone else's failed drug

> Novartis missed on pelacarsen, and $12 billion came off Amgen for a bet it hasn't run yet.
- Title: Amgen fell on someone else's failed drug · Yahoo Finance
- Summary: Novartis missed on pelacarsen, and $12 billion came off Amgen for a bet it hasn't run yet. The Lp(a) hypothesis itself took the hit, not Amgen's drug, so…
- Keywords: biotech, amgen, clinical trials, lp(a), pharma stocks, business, finance, fell, someone, else's, failed, drug
- Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/amgen-amgn-fell-5-drug-142916899.html
- Published: 2026-09-13T14:29:16+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: biotech, amgen, clinical trials, lp(a), pharma stocks, business, finance
## A $12 billion sympathy drop
Amgen lost about $12 billion in market value after hours on September 4, 2026, sliding roughly 5% to $415. The trigger was a Novartis trial, not an Amgen one.

> The reason, as strange as it sounds, is a drug it does not own.
## The premise took the hit
Pelacarsen cut Lp(a) by about 80% but still failed to reduce cardiovascular death, heart attack, stroke, or urgent revascularization. That challenges the whole idea that lowering Lp(a) cuts events.
## Olpasiran rides the same bet
Amgen's olpasiran is built on the identical hypothesis, so the market repriced its odds the moment pelacarsen's data landed. No new olpasiran data was needed.
## The 15% deeper cut
Olpasiran dropped Lp(a) by more than 95% in Phase 2 versus roughly 80% for pelacarsen. Bulls say that extra depth delivers outcomes, but the failed trial gave no evidence such a threshold exists.

> It is therefore appropriate to say that the miss lowered olpasiran's probability of success rather than pretending it is irrelevant.
## Why 5% and not 25%
Amgen is no Lp(a) pure play. MariTide in obesity, Repatha in cholesterol, and Tezspire in asthma carry more value, and positioning stayed calm at 66 hedge funds and 2.4% short interest.
## Setback, not a dip to buy
The deeper-cut argument is a hypothesis nobody has proved or disproved. Olpasiran's own outcomes readout settles it, but MariTide drives the stock in the meantime.

> Do not make the decision based on olpasiran alone.
## Key takeaway

The Lp(a) hypothesis itself took the hit, not Amgen's drug, so olpasiran's odds fell without any new data on olpasiran.