On Wednesday an FDA advisory panel will consider an expanded indication for Amarin Pharmaceuticals’ Vascepa, an EPA fish oil product currently indicated only for people with severe hypertriglyceridemia (>500 mg/dl). The new indication would greatly expand the patient population eligible to receive Vascepa, from the relatively few people with severe hypertriglyceridemia to the many millions with elevated triglycerides (>200 mg/dl) and existing CV disease or at high risk for CV disease. The NDA for this indication is based on the ANCHOR trial, which showed that Vascepa lowered triglycerides in the target patient population.
The FDA review (available here) raises 2 troubling issues. The first is fairly simple and relates to the performance of the placebo in ANCHOR. In its briefing documents the FDA raises the disturbing and unusual possibility that the mineral oil placebo used in the trial may not have been biologically inert. LDL levels in the placebo group went up 9% in the placebo group and this will make it difficult to assess the true effect of Vascepa. It’s unlikely that this issue by itself will entirely derail the NDA, but it may well serve to undermine confidence in the trial and put the panel in a critical frame of mind.
More significant, to my mind, is the lack of any evidence for any important improvement in clinical outcomes that can be tied to Vascepa….
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