Cost-Effectiveness of Icosapent Ethyl (IPE) for the Reduction of the Risk of Ischemic Cardiovascular Events in Canada

BACKGROUND: Despite the use of statins, many patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) have persistent residual risk. In a large Phase III trial (REDUCE-IT), icosapent ethyl (IPE) was shown to reduce the first occurrence of the primary composite endpoint of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, coronary revascularization, or hospitalization for unstable angina. METHODS: We conducted a cost-utility analysis comparing IPE to placebo in statin-treated patients with elevated triglycerides, from a publicly funded, Canadian healthcare payer perspective, using a time-dependent Markov transition model over a 20-year time horizon. We obtained efficacy and safety data from REDUCE-IT, and costs and utilities from provincial formularies and databases, manufacturer sources, and Canadian literature sources. RESULTS: In the probabilistic base-case analysis, IPE was associated with an incremental cost of $12,523 and an estimated 0.29 more quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), corresponding to an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $42,797/QALY gained. At a willingness-to-pay of $50,000 and $100,000/QALY gained, there is a probability of 70.4% and 98.8%, respectively, that IPE is a cost-effective strategy over placebo. The deterministic model yielded similar results. In the deterministic sensitivity analyses, the ICER varied between $31,823-$70,427/QALY gained. Scenario analyses revealed that extending the timeframe of the model to a lifetime horizon resulted in an ICER of $32,925/QALY gained. CONCLUSION: IPE represents an important new treatment for the reduction of ischemic CV events in statin-treated patients with elevated triglycerides. Based on the clinical trial evidence, we found that IPE could be a cost-effective strategy for treating these patients in Canada.