Pandemic Hobbles Drugmakers in Recruiting for New Studies (3)

A study evaluating a Novartis AG cholesterol drug stopped enlisting patients due to Covid-19, the latest example of how the pandemic is hampering research across the industry.

The Swiss drugmaker has paused new enrollment in a large U.K. clinical trial called Orion-4 that’s evaluating the experimental heart drug inclisiran, Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan said in a Bloomberg Television interview. The potential blockbuster was central to Novartis’s $9.7 billion takeover of Medicines Co. last year.

Novartis is far from alone as regulators around the world ask researchers to avoid in-person interactions and try using telephone or video instead, and as ...