(NYT) – The drug targeted inflammation, and its shocking failure has experts questioning whether inflammation really does cause heart disease.

Novo Nordisk stunned the cardiology world last week when it announced that a large study it was running on an experimental drug for heart disease had failed. The drug, widely expected to be a blockbuster, was no better than a placebo.

The drug, ziltivekimab, reduces inflammation, which is generally thought to be a cause of atherosclerosis. Stopping that inflammation was hoped to be a way to save lives.

Now the drug’s failure is raising a troubling question. Is inflammation really a cause or is it just a marker of atherosclerosis, the way gray hair is a marker of aging? (Read More)