National Population and Cost Implications of Treatment with Icosapentyl Ethyl in the United States: An Assessment Based on the REDUCE-IT trial
Icosapent ethyl, an omega-3-fatty acid, was associated with improved cardiovascular outcomes in individuals with elevated levels of serum triglycerides and at a high-risk of adverse cardiovascular events in the recently completed REDUCE-IT trial. We applied the eligibility criteria of the REDUCE-IT trial to a nationally representative sample of individuals in the United States captured in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for a 6-year period (2009-2014) and estimated the number of individuals nationally that would be potentially eligible for treatment with icosapentyl ethyl. We found that nearly 3 million US adults would potentially be candidates for this therapy. Further, based on the list cost of the drug, if all eligible individuals are treated, the additional cost to the US healthcare system will be almost $9 billion a year.