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VIDEO: Icosapent ethyl effective in women with very high triglycerides
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NEW ORLEANS — In this video exclusive, Lori Mosca, MD, MPH, PhD, discusses data presented at the National Lipid Association Scientific Sessions that highlight significant reductions in triglycerides, non-HDL and total cholesterol, without an increase in LDL, after treatment with icosapent ethyl compared with placebo in a subgroup of women with severe hypertriglyceridemia in the MARINE trial.
The subgroup analysis focused on 36 women who participated in the 12-week, double blind, phase 3 MARINE trial, which was designed to evaluate pure EPA prescription therapy (Vascepa, Amarin; 4 mg) in patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia (500 mg/dL to 2,000 mg/dL), including those receiving statins.
“The results of our subgroup analysis of women showed the same overall beneficial effect on our primary endpoint ... as was observed in the overall [MARINE] trial,” Mosca, professor of medicine emerita and center director of the American Heart Association Go Red for Women Research Network at Columbia University Medical Center, said.
In particular, treatment was associated with a 23% reduction in triglycerides.
“This is great news ... for the treatment of women who have very high triglyceride levels, not only because it’s effective in lowering triglycerides, but also because there was a neutral effect on LDL cholesterol,” Mosca said.
In addition, the effects were consistent regardless of prescribed statin therapy. Mosca also highlighted a low incidence of adverse events among the women.
“Now we have really robust data showing that we have a prescription form of purified EPA that ... [reduces] triglycerides without raising LDL in both men and women,” she said.
Results of REDUCE-IT, an ongoing multinational CV outcomes trial, will provide further information on the safety and efficacy of icosapent ethyl in this population, she said.