Novo Nordisk halts two ziltivekimab heart failure trials after futility finding

Novo Nordisk has stopped two Phase 3 trials of ziltivekimab, an experimental anti-inflammatory drug it was testing in people with heart failure, after an independent data monitoring committee concluded the studies were unlikely to succeed ^[1][2]. The company told trial investigators on Friday, September 4, 2026, that the studies, called HERMES and ATHENA, were ending early ^[1].

The two trials asked different questions in the same group of patients. HERMES measured time to a first cardiovascular death or a hospitalization or urgent visit for heart failure. ATHENA measured quality-of-life endpoints ^[1][2]. Both were late-stage studies of an IL-6 inhibitor, an antibody that blocks interleukin-6, a signal the body uses to drive inflammation ^[1][2].

The decision followed the failure of a third Phase 3 trial, ZEUS, which Novo Nordisk reported on July 31, 2026. In ZEUS, the drug lowered markers of inflammation but did not reduce the risk of major clinical complications, including deaths and heart attacks ^[1]. STAT News described the ZEUS result as a blow to the strategy of improving cardiovascular health by taming inflammation, and called the new halt another blow to that approach ^[1].

With HERMES and ATHENA stopped, ARTEMIS is the only remaining Phase 3 study of ziltivekimab. It is testing the drug in people who have had a heart attack, and results are expected in the first half of 2027 ^[1][2].

Novo Nordisk has not disclosed how many patients were enrolled in HERMES and ATHENA, whether the data monitoring committee flagged any safety concerns, or what will happen to participants now that the studies are ending. A futility finding means a trial is unlikely to show the benefit it was designed to measure ^[2]. It is not the same as a finding of harm, and no safety problem has been reported.

Why it matters for patients

Ziltivekimab is not a medicine patients can be prescribed; it is an experimental drug that was still being tested ^[1][2]. A futility stop means the evidence was not pointing toward a benefit, not that people in the trials were injured. Even so, volunteers who joined these studies will need to hear from their study teams about follow-up, and Novo Nordisk has not said what that will involve.

For people living with heart failure, the halt removes one of the more closely watched experimental approaches to their condition. The idea behind ziltivekimab was that inflammation itself, not only cholesterol or blood sugar, could be a target for preventing cardiovascular events. Three Phase 3 results have now gone against the drug: ZEUS in July, and HERMES and ATHENA now ^[1][2]. That leaves one test of the approach still running.

Nothing in this reporting suggests a change for GLP-1 medicines such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound). Ziltivekimab is not a GLP-1 drug; it is an antibody aimed at an inflammatory signal ^[1][2]. This news concerns one experimental compound in Novo Nordisk's pipeline.

What happens next

ARTEMIS, the post-heart-attack study, is expected to report results in the first half of 2027 ^[1][2]. Novo Nordisk has not said whether it will release full results from HERMES and ATHENA, or whether the ziltivekimab program would continue if ARTEMIS also fails.