FT : Google engineer charged with insider trading on Polymarket

Google engineer charged with insider trading on Polymarket
Employee allegedly used account name ‘AlphaRaccoon’ and amassed more than $1mn, charges say

A Google software engineer allegedly used confidential information to make more than $1mn on predictions market Polymarket, according to criminal charges unsealed in New York federal court on Wednesday.

Michele Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen, used Google’s internal software tool to access confidential data to wager “substantial sums” on the top names users searched for in 2025, the complaint said. 

Spagnuolo — who allegedly used the account name “AlphaRaccoon” — could not immediately be reached for comment. He appeared in federal court and was released on a $2.25mn bail.

Google said in a statement that it was working with law enforcement.

“The employee accessed our marketing material using a tool available to all employees, but using such confidential information to place bets is a serious breach of our policies,” Google said. “We’ve placed the employee on leave and will take the appropriate action.”

Spagnuolo has been charged with commodities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. According to the complaint, he “misappropriated confidential and valuable nonpublic information from his employer and used that information to place a series of Google-related bets on Polymarket”.

The Google employee “knew the outcome of these wagers before the trading public did . . . [and] profited more than approximately $1,200,000 from his trades based on nonpublic information”, the complaint reads.

As prediction markets have become popular and led to increased scrutiny of potential insider trading, New York federal prosecutor Jay Clayton has made cases involving the platforms a priority since becoming Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor last year.

“Today’s charges reinforce a decades-old message: corporate insiders cannot use confidential business information to turn a profit in our markets,” Clayton said in a statement on Wednesday.

He has repeatedly said that he expects the office to bring cases related to the betting sites, and that the novelty of the platform would not shield people misusing information.

A Polymarket spokesperson said the group had co-operated with Clayton’s office in its investigation of Spagnuolo.

“[Polymarket] is the only prediction platform to date whose co-operation has led to insider trading charges in the United States,” the spokesperson said. “We are committed to maintaining accurate, fair and transparent markets as well as enforcing our rules and working with our regulators and law enforcement.”

Clayton, who chaired the SEC during President Donald Trump’s first term, last month announced charges against Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a soldier involved in planning the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro in January. Van Dyke is accused of placing prediction market trades on the mission, gaining more than $400,000 as a result. He has pleaded not guilty.

In March, the FT reported that a number of large bets had been placed shortly before the US attack on Iran.

Earlier this month, Polymarket launched markets allowing customers to bet on the performance of private companies, allowing them to speculate on the future valuation of companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX.

FT : US carries out fresh strikes on Iran

US carries out fresh strikes on Iran
Official says increasingly strained ceasefire continues to hold

American forces shot down four Iranian attack drones and struck southern Iran, according to a US official who said the increasingly strained ceasefire between Washington and Tehran continued to hold.

The official said forces from US Central Command, which oversees operations against Iran, shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones and also struck a ground control station in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas that the US said was about to launch a fifth drone.

“These actions were measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire,” said the US official, speaking late on Wednesday in the US.

The strikes, which took place in the early hours of Thursday in Iran, are the second in three days. The US said on Monday it struck missile launch sites and boats that it said were laying mines in waters around Iran.

Tehran and Washington are seeking to formalise a ceasefire brokered in early April by negotiating a more permanent agreement.

The acknowledgment of the latest attack came after Iran media had reported that three explosions were heard near Bandar Abbas, which also hosts important Iranian bases, and that air defence batteries were active for several minutes.  

Confused messages have emanated from Tehran, where hardliners have pushed back against concessions, and Washington in recent days on what progress towards an agreement has been made. 

Iranian state media had claimed on Wednesday to have obtained a copy of an unofficial draft deal which would lead to Iran completely opening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping within a month, while the US would lift its six-week-old maritime blockade and withdraw its forces from the “vicinity” of Iran. 

US officials denied that the Iranian reports were genuine. 

US President Donald Trump, who had until recently been projecting confidence that an agreement would be forthcoming, suggested that Washington remained unhappy with Tehran’s demands in discussions.  

“They haven’t got there, we’re not satisfied with it, but we will be,” Trump said. “They’re negotiating on fumes, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe we have to go back and finish it, maybe we don’t.”

Sticking points include the fate of Iranian stockpiles of highly enriched uranium and the reopening of the strait. Tehran has also demanded substantial sanctions relief.

Trump denied that the US would consider easing sanctions on Iran or would agree to the unfreezing of around $24bn in Iranian oil revenues held in accounts in Qatar.

“We’re not talking about any easing of sanctions or giving money,” he said. “We have control of money that they claim is theirs. We’ll keep control of that money. When they behave properly and when they do what’s right, we’ll let them have their money, but right now we’re not doing that,” he added.  

The US Treasury on Wednesday sanctioned the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a body created by Tehran to manage traffic and collect tolls from ships moving through the waterway. The order also threatened secondary sanctions against any entities doing business with the authority.

Trump, who has begun tying recognition of Israel by US partners in the Middle East to any deal with Iran, has been under pressure domestically over the conflict ahead of crucial midterm elections in November.

Oil rose on reports of the strikes. Brent crude, the international benchmark, in Asian trade added about 2 per cent to about $96 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate rose to $90 a barrel. 

The renewed strikes in southern Iran have coincided with a fresh military push by Israel against Hizbollah, an Iranian-aligned militia, in southern Lebanon. Iran has repeatedly said that any long-term deal brokered with the US ought to cover Lebanon too. 

Israel, which clashed with Hizbollah on Wednesday, warned residents across a swath of southern Lebanon to evacuate, in the first such warning since April. It said that it considered large parts of southern Lebanon to be “combat zones”.

FT : UK household energy bills to rise by 13% from July to two-year high

UK household energy bills to rise by 13% from July to two-year high
Ofgem’s cap increase means annual costs will increase to £1,862

The price cap on British household energy bills will rise by 13 per cent from July to the highest level in more than two years, fuelled by the energy shock from the Middle East war.

The new cap announced by Ofgem means annual energy bills will rise to £1,862 for a typical household between July and September, up £221 and reaching the highest level since the first quarter of 2024.

The latest figures will pile pressure on the Labour government, which has promised to cut energy bills.

Ofgem’s interim chief executive Tim Jarvis said on Wednesday: “It is likely that we are going to see elevated prices this winter.”

British wholesale gas prices are about 60 per cent higher because of the conflict in the Middle East, as disruption around the Strait of Hormuz threatens roughly a fifth of global LNG trade.

However, the energy shock has been cushioned to an extent by the increased use of renewable energy in the UK, such that price rises have been less sharp than in 2022 in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.


In April, the UK government introduced measures intended to soften the impact of the Middle East crisis, saying at the time that the combined steps would shave about £150 off annual energy bills.

But consultancy Cornwall Insight said that in addition to the latest price cap rise, households were likely to face a further increase later this year, estimating that the cap would rise by another 2 per cent to £1,899 in the winter.

Ed Miliband, energy secretary, said the price rise was “deeply unwelcome news” for households. Easing the burden was “our number one priority”, he said, pointing to the government’s recent decision to freeze fuel duty and its efforts to insulate homes.

“We will continue to monitor the situation ahead of the winter and plan for all contingencies,” Miliband added.

The rise in energy bills is likely to fuel further calls for more financial support for households.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a package of measures earlier this month, including targeted cuts to agrifood tariffs, to help people with the soaring cost of living.

But she will not allocate any money to help households facing higher energy bills over the summer, instead waiting until the autumn, when help will be targeted towards the poorest.

>>> US After Hours Summary: SNOW +35.8% surging on earnings and AWS collaboratio

After Hours Summary: SNOW +35.8% surging on earnings and AWS collaboration; MRVL +2.7%, HPQ +0.8% modestly higher on earnings; BRZE -11.1%, P -7.6%, SNPS -2.1%, CRM -1.3% lower on earnings

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: SNOW +35.8% (also signs multi-year strategic collaboration agreement with AWS; also to acquire Natoma), PHR +21.1%, NCNO +11.3%, HEI +10.8%, CTRN +10.8% (guidance), A +9%, NTNX +4.2%, MRVL +2.7%, HPQ +0.8%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: SCOR +10.9% (Advaya Capital completes acquisition of Comscore Movies from SCOR), DELL +4.7% (awarded a $9.69 bln single-award, firm-fixed-price blanket purchase agreement under the Department of War Enterprise Software Initiative), DAVE +4.2% (to join S&P SmallCap 600), FEIM +4% (award of new contracts for a total of approximately $16 mln), JAZZ +1.5% (Phase 3 HERIZON-GEA Data Published in NEJM), HNST +1.4% (promotes Curtiss Bruce to CFO and COO), SYY +1.3% (Director bought 13304 shares at $75.168 worth ~$1 mln), ATRO +1.1% (receives production order for TS-4549/T radio test sets program), EPAM +1% (to join S&P SmallCap 600), CCJ +0.8% (McArthur River/Key Lake operation resumes production), WYFI +0.7% (enters into a $100 mln delayed draw term loan facility), EFC +0.7% (estimated book value per share of $13.43), TVTX +0.4% (receives notice of allowance from USPTO), AMZN +0.3% (appoints new head of healthcare business), MYRG +0.2% (to acquire Valley Electric and Comet Electric), COLD +0.1% (launches initiative targeting $25 mln in annual overhead savings)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: BRZE -11.1%, AMSC -9%, P -7.6%, ICLR -6.3%, SNPS -2.1% (also appoints new board member in agreement with Elliott Asset Management), CRM -1.3% (also enters accelerated share repurchase program)

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: TH -7.3% (stock offering by selling shareholders), NEOV -5.8% (stock offering), NERV -2.5% (files prospectus supplement, relates to sales agreement for offering up to $75 mln in common shares), CLPT -0.9% (development partnership with Sungkyunkwan University), BTBT -0.5% (originates financing facility for WYFI), HCA -0.3% (to acquire The College of Health Care Professions)

The Information : Polymarket Wants Traders to ID Themselves as It Faces Sanction

Polymarket Wants Traders to ID Themselves as It Faces Sanctions, Legal Risks

The Takeaway
  • Polymarket clamps down on customer use of VPNs, blocks some suspicious accounts
  • Users can now opt in to sharing identity verification, such as passports
  • Those verified users will get a several millisecond jump on other traders

In Russia, making bets on Polymarket isn’t permitted by the popular online prediction market’s rules. But that hasn’t stopped Ruslan Kashaev, a software developer who lives in the small Russian city of Ufa, a 15-hour drive from Moscow, from turning the site into a lucrative source of income.

Using automated trading bots hosted on the Telegram encrypted messaging service, Kashaev has convinced thousands of Russian-speaking traders to bet on Polymarket. Kashaev’s website and YouTube channel, Russian Polymarket, promotes strategies to Russians seeking big, fast returns on the prediction market: “For every 10,000 rubles, that’s about 4,000 rubles in profit every 3–4 days.” He makes money by charging fees for people to use his bots.

Kashaev is one of many software developers, online financial influencers and day traders tapping into Polymarket’s Panama-based prediction market from countries where users are legally barred. Polymarket says users in 33 different countries can’t bet on the platform “due to regulatory requirements and compliance with international sanctions.”

Some are in legally risky jurisdictions such as Russia, where certain financial institutions and individuals are under U.S. sanctions, or Iran, which is subject to a total U.S. embargo. Traders in those countries bet on everything from the weather to the Iranian war.

Until recently, Polymarket turned a blind eye to traders like Kashaev. Part of the site’s appeal to a subset of users, in fact, has been its relaxed approach to identifying its customers. Unlike its rival Kalshi, which has mandatory identification for its customers, Polymarket has long opted to allow anyone to sign up with only an email.

Now, though, Polymarket is starting to clamp down. The site has made it harder to use a virtual private network, software that encrypts the connection between users and the internet, to access the site. It does so by blocking certain IP addresses—those that websites have learned over time are used by VPN providers—and blocking accounts with suspicious connection patterns.

Polymarket is also now asking some customers to identify themselves to access faster trading technology.

Prediction market startups are booming. The key players, Polymarket and Kalshi, are starting to earn revenue from millions of bettors placing wagers on sports, elections and TV shows. Polymarket is currently raising funds at $15 billion, while Kalshi is closing a fundraising round valuing it at $22 billion.

The platforms have threatened to upend traditional sports betting and gaming industries and are attracting a growing chorus of critics. Prediction markets are now battling an array of lawsuits from state lawmakers who argue that Polymarket and Kalshi are running illegal betting websites. Congress this month opened an investigation into insider trading on the platforms and whether attempts by the companies to enforce bans on customers in certain countries are working, warning that lawmakers may be forced to intervene.

To make matters worse for Polymarket, the former market leader is losing ground to its younger competitor, Kalshi. The two companies have taken different approaches to regulation. Kalshi got approval from regulators to operate legally in the U.S. and now runs a licensed exchange that serves institutional traders and accesses the deep American consumer betting market.

Polymarket, on the other hand, shifted its operations offshore in 2022 after U.S. regulators banned it. That officially cut the company off from American gamblers, although many continued to access the site using VPNs. Polymarket last year acquired a licensed U.S. exchange that could insulate the company from any potential regulatory moves to rein in offshore sportsbooks, but the launch of its regulated platform has been delayed amid engineering problems and staff turnover, The Information previously reported.

A spokesperson for Polymarket said it had identified and permanently banned Kashaev’s account and was “thoroughly reviewing the account’s activity” in its efforts to enforce restricted jurisdictions. Polymarket said it refers cases of wrongdoing to law enforcement, maintains “a comprehensive market integrity framework” and looks forward to engaging with Congress on the investigation.

Balancing Act

Polymarket is walking a tightrope in its efforts to clamp down on trading volume that comes from prohibited jurisdictions. By cracking down, it risks losing business at a time when Kalshi is pulling ahead in terms of overall trading volume and equity valuation.

The move has already upset some of Polymarket’s users, according to messages posted in the company’s Discord community forum. “What? Is this an attempt to destroy everything,” said one user. “Polymarket will go down the drain if they make KYC mandatory,” said another, using the abbreviation for know your customer, a process banks and others use to verify the identity of clients.

In response to customer complaints, senior Polymarket engineer Mustafa Aljadery said in a post on X that the KYC checks targeted customers accessing Polymarket’s application programming interface “in certain jurisdictions” and that Polymarket “remains kyc free for all other users.”

But if Polymarket doesn’t start enforcing its policy on prohibited jurisdictions, it risks regulatory action. Regulators in the Netherlands and other countries have already threatened it with penalties if it continues to provide an illegal gambling platform to their residents.

Polymarket has a lot to contend with when it comes to choking off users in prohibited territories. A cottage industry of social media influencers and app developers has sprung up to coach prospective prediction markets customers on how to access Polymarket using a VPN.

Or they can bypass the company’s tools that automatically block certain countries or regions: They can use one of the many trading interfaces hosted on Telegram that promote their ability to skirt Polymarket’s compliance controls.

In some cases, Polymarket has signaled its appreciation to influencers in risky regions for bringing in users. Daniil Adveev, a young crypto promoter based in Moscow, said he earns referral revenue from Polymarket for driving new users to the site from Russian-speaking countries.

Thanks to the number of customers Adveev has introduced, Polymarket recently sent a gift to him—a box of Polymarket-branded sweatshirts and hats—which he said it shipped to Russia via a friend’s address in North America.

Adveev, who uses a VPN to access Polymarket, said the majority of his income comes from referring users to various crypto projects, and since he has been promoting Polymarket since 2025, “it’s hard to say exact numbers, but it’s a lot.”

Another influencer is Tehran-based Exdigy, who uses a pseudonym. He makes YouTube tutorials on how to access Polymarket from Iran. Exdigy directs users to join Polymarket with his paid referral link. (Polymarket, through a partnership with marketing group Dub, has paid these kinds of affiliates 1 cent for each click on their referral links and $10 if a referred customer made a deposit.)

Exdigy’s advice includes signing up to Polymarket with a crypto wallet that hasn’t had any contact with Iranian exchanges. “And be sure to log in with a VPN,” he says in one video. “Everyone knows this by now. A VPN, preferably a static IP. You can easily get one for this low cost.”

Faster Speeds for ID

Polymarket is enticing users to provide identifying information by offering them faster trading speeds. Earlier this month, it rolled out an online portal where individual customers can submit information including passports, licenses and proof of residence.

The online forms ask Polymarket customers to verify they are not a resident of any regions prohibited by its terms of service, where governments have banned the prediction market from operating, or of countries subject to U.S. sanctions, such as Russia, Syria, Cuba and North Korea. Polymarket is also asking business users, such as developers of trading apps that plug into Polymarket, about their investors and location.

Submitting the information isn’t mandatory. But customers who complete the forms can access Polymarket’s U.K.-based server, which offers the fastest trading speeds, giving them an advantage of milliseconds over other users.

That advantage is important for a key subset of Polymarket customers that drive significant levels of high-speed, automated trading volume, including third-party developers that plug into the company’s API. A difference of milliseconds can make or break some trading strategies.

WSJ : Schaeffler, Spire to Partner on European Space Infrastructure

Schaeffler, Spire to Partner on European Space Infrastructure
The companies aim to build a sovereign European space hardware and mission business before the end of the decade

  • Schaeffler and Spire Global signed an MOU to develop space hardware, satellite platforms, and sensing capabilities.
  • The companies aim to combine their expertise to build a sovereign European space hardware business by decade-end.
  • The partnership will initially focus on scaling supply chains for spacecraft subsystems and evaluating satellite bus platforms.

Schaeffler SHA0 10.38%increase; green up pointing triangle and Spire Global SPIR 7.79%increase; green up pointing triangle signed a memorandum of understanding to develop space hardware subsystems, satellite platforms, and advanced radio frequency and environmental sensing capabilities.

The companies aim to combine Schaeffler’s precision engineering and manufacturing scale with Spire’s satellite platform expertise to build a sovereign European space hardware and mission business before the end of the decade.

The partnership will initially focus on scaling up supply chains for spacecraft subsystems and the companies will also evaluate a path toward industrialized satellite bus platforms.

“This is a meaningful step toward a reliable, industrialized pathway for critical dual-use missions and a more self-reliant European space-industrial base capable of operating at the speed and scale modern missions require,” said Spire Chief Executive Theresa Condor.

Spire shares rose 8.9% to $25.87 in premarket trading.

WSJ : EU Plans to Reserve Most of Mobile Satellite Spectrum for Homegrown Operat

EU Plans to Reserve Most of Mobile Satellite Spectrum for Homegrown Operators
EU proposed an overhaul of how licenses are granted for the 2 gigahertz MSS frequency band that is used for satellite communications

  • The EU proposed an overhaul of mobile satellite spectrum licensing to reserve the majority for homegrown operators.
  • The proposal would set aside two-thirds of the 2 gigahertz MSS frequency band for commercial use, with one-third for secure government communications.
  • The EU seeks to curb reliance on foreign tech companies and boost its sovereignty in the technology sector.

The European Union plans to reserve most of its lucrative mobile satellite spectrum for homegrown operators from next year, the bloc’s latest move to curb reliance on foreign tech companies.

The EU on Wednesday proposed an overhaul of how licenses are granted for the 2 gigahertz MSS frequency band that is used for satellite communications, after May 2027, when licenses held by U.S. companies Viasat and EchoStar are due to expire.

The EU wants to reserve two-thirds of the sought-after band for commercial use such as cellular devices, it said Wednesday.

Non-EU companies such as Elon Musk’s Starlink would be able to bid for access, but access for commercial use would be divided equally between European companies entering the market and other European and non-EU companies in a bid to diversify the bloc’s suppliers.

The remaining one-third of access would also be set aside for EU operators providing secure government communications.

The EU has sought to boost its own sovereignty in the technology sector in recent months, spurred on by concerns over the dominance of U.S. tech giants while trans-Atlantic relations are more volatile under President Trump.

“Europe stands now at a crossroads. We now have a rare opportunity to choose what we want to do for our future,” Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s top tech enforcer, said Wednesday. “We want to boost Europe’s competitiveness, we want to strengthen Europe’s security and, also, we want to embrace new technological possibilities,” she said.

WSJ : A New, Powerful Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Is on the Horizon

A New, Powerful Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Is on the Horizon
Pharmaceutical companies have spent years targeting a common blood particle associated with heart-attack risks

  • Novartis and Ionis Pharmaceuticals expect results as soon as this summer for an experimental drug targeting lipoprotein(a), a cause of heart disease.
  • Amgen and Eli Lilly are also developing gene-based drugs to lower lipoprotein(a), with trial results expected in the next year or two and in 2029, respectively.
  • Elevated lipoprotein(a) affects roughly one in five people globally, is inherited and has eluded effective treatment for decades.

A new class of drugs is poised to take on an insidious cause of heart attacks and strokes that has eluded treatment for decades.

Researchers could know as soon as this summer whether the most advanced experimental drug, from Novartis NOVN 0.96%increase; green up pointing triangle and its partner Ionis Pharmaceuticals IONS 1.09%increase; green up pointing triangle, cut heart attacks, strokes and deaths in a study that could be used to get their drug approved by next year.

Amgen AMGN 0.96%increase; green up pointing triangle and Eli Lilly LLY 1.73%increase; green up pointing triangle are also developing medicines that lower the level of lipoprotein(a), a fatty particle in the blood that is known as Lp(a). It can cause plaque to build up in blood vessels and is linked to heart disease.

Tens of millions of people in the U.S. have elevated Lp(a), an inherited and largely hidden driver of heart disease. If Lp(a) drugs work, companies could be on the verge of the next big heart-drug market. Citi analysts estimate it could be valued at as much as $25 billion a year worldwide.

This isn’t a sure bet, though. Effective Lp(a) drugs have proven difficult to develop. In the past, scientists found drugs that lowered levels of the particle a moderate amount but failed to reduce heart attacks and strokes in research studies, leaving patients with no approved treatment.

“It’s just been the riddle that nobody could solve,” said Monica Florio, who has helped lead research on Amgen’s candidate. “Now I think these trials are going to bring us an answer.”

Lp(a) is an especially treacherous cause of heart disease. The particle is a variant of LDL, the so-called bad cholesterol. Like its cousin, high levels of buildup in arteries threaten heart attacks and strokes.

But the problem is, six decades of research has so far failed to prove that lowering a person’s Lp(a) will actually reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes. For Lp(a) drugs to work, scientists say they must significantly lower overall levels of the particle in the body.

Diet and exercise don’t lower Lp(a). About 90% of a person’s level is fixed at birth. Doctors usually prescribe other cholesterol treatments, such as statins, to manage overall cardiovascular risk—yet statins can raise Lp(a) levels.

Roughly one in five people globally have dangerously high levels of Lp(a), according to Dr. Steven Nissen, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who is involved in trials to test several of the drugs in development.

Lp(a) hardens arteries and promotes clotting, which is “why it is so noxious in terms of increasing adverse cardiovascular events,” Nissen said.

Drugmakers are using new technologies to attack Lp(a) now.

Both Amgen’s experimental Lp(a) drug and Lilly’s most advanced treatment deploy a gene-based technology that aims to silence the gene that produces Lp(a).

Amgen’s late-stage trial is expected to have results in the next year or two, while Lilly’s late-stage trial results aren’t expected until 2029.

The therapy from Novartis and Ionis uses a different gene-based technology that blocks the signal telling the liver to produce Lp(a).

Bill Heym, who is in the Novartis trial, didn’t find out that he had high levels of the particle until he suffered a heart attack.

Shortly after retiring from a 35-year career as a construction electrician, the Parma, Ohio, resident had shoulder-reconstruction surgery in late 2016.

He went into cardiac arrest while at the hospital and required three rounds of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He was airlifted to the Cleveland Clinic’s main hospital, where doctors performed an emergency procedure to remove blood clots from his arteries and heart.

When Heym woke up three days later, his doctor delivered the news: His Lp(a) level was more than triple the threshold at which the American Heart Association says it starts raising heart risk.

Most people have never had their Lp(a) level tested, according to Nissen, the Cleveland Clinic cardiologist. Doctors have been hesitant to order the test for patients because there aren’t currently any approved drugs to directly lower the particle. Medical bodies updated guidelines earlier this year to recommend Lp(a) testing.

If the drugs work, the question will be who exactly should get them.

The drugs might prove clearly effective only for people with extremely high levels of Lp(a). If the benefit for patients with lower levels is murky, the drugs could end up being covered by insurers only for those at very high risk.

Then there is the question of cost: A decade ago, health plans balked at paying for powerful new cholesterol-lowering drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors because of pricing.

Drugmakers eventually slashed prices to about $200 a month from roughly $1,000 a month before insurers would cover them broadly. Analysts have estimated that the annual price for Lp(a) drugs could be similar to approved PCSK9 drugs—but a lot depends on the coming study results.

Amgen argues that near-total elimination of the particle is what will meaningfully reduce heart attacks and deaths.

“This could prove to be important, especially in patients who benefit from decades of improving other risk-factor management,” said Jay Bradner, Amgen’s executive vice president for research and development.