PR contact: Rob Seman
973-660-3145EmailSUMMIT, NJ – APRIL 2025 – Cardiologists at Overlook Medical Center, part of Atlantic Health System, are helping researchers find out if a study drug can help prevent the progression of a heart condition that often leads to heart valve replacement.
Overlook was recently added among the hospital sites in the Frontiers CAVS trial, a multicenter trial sponsored by Novartis to determine whether the study drug can slow the progression of mild to moderate aortic stenosis.
Researchers will assess whether the study drug, which lowers lipoprotein(a), can reduce the amount of calcification of the aortic valve. Lipoprotein(a), or LP(a) is a low-density lipoprotein that researchers have determined can contribute to higher risk of heart disease.
Select patients between the ages of 50 and less than 80 are given a subcutaneous injection of the study drug once a month for 36 months. Overlook randomized its first patient in the trial in December.
The findings of the trial could offer new alternatives in how cardiologists treat aortic stenosis, a heart valve disease in which the valve is narrowed or calcified and doesn’t fully open, blocking the flow of blood from the heart to the body.
Valve replacement remains the only treatment approved, and under current guidelines, most patients are only eligible for the procedure only once they are diagnosed with a severe form of the condition.
“Currently, patients don’t have many options once diagnosed with aortic stenosis, and as the condition worsens, are likely to need valve replacement,” said cardiologist Robert Fishberg, MD, the principal investigator for the trial at Overlook, who randomized the first patient at that site. “If successful and approved, the use of this study drug could offer a different, non-surgical option for many patients.”
For more information about the trial or to qualify to participate, visit: https://www.novartis.com/clinicaltrials/study/nct05646381
For more information about Overlook Medical Center, please visit www.atlantichealth.org.
About Atlantic Health System
Atlantic Health System is at the forefront of medicine, setting standards for quality health care in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New York metropolitan area. Powered by a workforce of 21,000 team members and more than 6,800 affiliated physicians dedicated to building healthier communities, Atlantic Health System serves more than half of the state of New Jersey including 14 counties and 7.5 million people.
The not-for-profit system offers more than 550 sites of care, including its eight hospitals: Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ, Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ, Newton Medical Center in Newton, NJ, Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, NJ, Hackettstown Medical Center in Hackettstown, NJ, Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, NJ, Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute in Madison, NJ and CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, NJ.
The system includes Atlantic Medical Group, part of a physician enterprise that makes up one of the largest multispecialty practices in New Jersey with more than 1,700 physicians and advance practice providers. Joined with Atlantic Accountable Care Organization and Optimus Healthcare Partners they form part of Atlantic Alliance, a Clinically Integrated Network of more than 2,500 health care providers throughout northern and central NJ.
Atlantic Health System provides care for the full continuum of health care needs through 30 urgent care centers, Atlantic Visiting Nurse and Atlantic Health Virtual Visits. Facilitating the connection between these services on both land and air is the transportation fleet of Atlantic Mobile Health.
Atlantic Health System leads the Healthcare Transformation Consortium, a partnership of six regional hospitals and health systems dedicated to improving access and affordability, has a medical school affiliation with Thomas Jefferson University, is home to the regional campus of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers, and is the official health care partner of the New York Jets.