Icosapent ethyl (IPE) is approved for the prevention of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with hypertriglyceridemia. However, due to budget constraints, access to IPE will inevitably be limited to a fraction of eligible patients. To help maximize value for money spent, we estimated the number of preventable MACE when providing IPE for primary versus secondary prevention.

The number of preventable MACE was estimated by dividing the available budget by the cost needed to treat (CNT) to prevent one MACE. CNT was calculated as the product of the number needed to treat (NNT) to prevent 1 MACE by therapy cost. NNT values were determined according to the Reduction of Cardiovascular Events with Icosapent Ethyl–Intervention Trial (REDUCE-IT) results. The budget limit was set as the United States’ threshold suggested by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. Sensitivity analysis was performed regarding the cost of IPE in the United States.

The NNT to prevent 1 MACE over 4.9 years in the Reduction of Cardiovascular Events with Icosapent Ethyl–Intervention Trial primary prevention cohort was 59 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 24-∞) versus 14 (11-21) for secondary prevention. At an annual IPE cost of $2915, the CNT to prevent 1 MACE was $842,726 (95% CI: $342,804-∞) and $199,969 ($157,118-$299,953) accordingly. A total of $819 million worth of IPE can avoid 4762 MACE (95% CI: 0-11,707) versus 20,069 (13,379-25,541), when provided as primary versus secondary prevention therapy; P < .001. The number of avoided MACE is sensitive to IPE price.

Prioritizing IPE therapy for patients with an established cardiovascular disease may provide significantly more value for money than primary prevention.