Icosapent Ethyl Gains Nod from NICE

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published its final draft guidance recommending the use of Vazkepa (icosapent ethyl) in adults to reduce heart attacks and strokes. Amarin, developer of Vazkepa, announced the news on June 10, 2022.

NICE’s recommendation applies to adult patients who are being treated with statins and who are at a high cardiovascular (CV) risk with elevated triglycerides (≥150 mg/dL [≥ 1.7 mmol/L]), LDL-C levels >1.04 mmol/L (and ≤ 2.60 mmol/L) and established cardiovascular disease (CVD). Vazkepa is the first treatment of its class to be recommended by NICE for CV risk reduction.

A trial involving more than 8000 patients, the REDUCE-IT Phase III clinical trial, demonstrated that there was a 25% relative reduction in the risk of future major adverse CV events when patients were treated with icosapent ethyl when compared with placebo.

“VAZKEPA offers an important scientific innovation for patients with CVD, and the results of the REDUCE-IT trial demonstrate the benefits of its use for optimizing the outcomes of patients at high risk of CV events, on top of treatments for traditional risk factors,” said Laurent Abuaf, senior vide-president and president of Europe, Amarin, in a company press release. “NICE’s recommendation will help to reduce the risk of CV events amongst a significant number of patients across England and Wales, and we are committed to working with all relevant stakeholders in the NHS [National Health Service] to offer this important new treatment option to patients with CVD.”

NICE’s final guidance is expected to be available in July 2022.

Source: Amarin