The cost-effectiveness of Icosapent Ethyl for the Reduction of the Risk of Ischemic Cardiovascular Events: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Icosapent Ethyl (IPE) is effective and safe in reducing the risk of ischemic cardiovascular disease (CVD). The present study aimed to systematically collect and synthesize available cost-effectiveness studies of IPE in combination with statin therapy for cardiovascular risk reduction in primary and secondary prevention.

Methods: Electronic searches on PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED) and the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) database were searched for relevant literature (updated to May 2024). Out of 580 initial studies, 11 studies had the inclusion criteria.

Results: The results show that IPE reduced hospitalization and mortality rates versus standard drugs. The current study showed that IPE has higher QALYs and LYQs than statins. IPE is more expensive than conventional drugs such as statins, for example, the one-year cost of IPE in Australia is $ 3,768 and in the United States is $ 3,497 per patient. The results also show that the threshold for evaluating the effectiveness of IPE varies from $ 50,000 to $ 150,000 in the United States and AUD 50,000 ($ 39,000) in Australia.

Conclusion: According to the current study, IPE is cost-effective and the probability of cost-effectiveness of IPE in patients with secondary prevention is higher than in primary prevention.