- A study of ~200 adult Japanese coronary heart disease (CHD) patients , called CHERRY, evaluating the efficacy of statin therapy [Livalo (pitavastatin)] alone and statin therapy in combination with highly-purified EPA showed that the addition of EPA significantly improved coronary plaque volume compared to treatment with statin alone. The data were presented yesterday at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida.
- After six to eight months, the EPA/statin cohort (n=97) showed statistically significant improvements in coronary plaque volume (p<0.001), lipid volume (p<0.05) and fibrous volume (p<0.05) while the statin-only cohort (n=96) failed to achieve statistical significance on any measure. The prevalence of clinically significant plaque regression, defined as more than a 15% reduction in plaque volume, was significantly greater in the EPA group versus the statin-only group (48% versus 25%; p<0.001).
- CHERRY is the first study to use IB-IVUS (integrated backscatter intravascular ultrasound) to measure the effects of statin plus EPA on plaque regression. It is considered a feasible means to predict future cardiovascular events while the analysis of specific tissue components is considered useful for assessing the risk of a coronary event in patients with atherosclerosis. The study was performed independently by researchers in Japan.
- EPA is the active ingredient in Amarin's (NASDAQ:AMRN +6.9%) Vascepa (icosapent ethyl), which is currently being investigated for its potential to reduce the incidence of first major cardiovascular events in high-risk patients in an ~8,000-subject study called REDUCE-IT. The company expects to complete the trial in 2017 and publish results in 2018. Over 7,700 patients have been enrolled to date.