A randomized trial of icosapent ethyl in ambulatory patients with COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains a source of considerable morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Therapeutic options to reduce symptoms, inflammatory response, or disease progression are limited. This randomized open-label trial enrolled 100 ambulatory patients with symptomatic COVID-19 in Toronto, Canada. Results indicate that icosapent ethyl (8 g daily for 3 days followed by 4 g daily for 11 days) significantly reduced high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and improved symptomatology compared with patients assigned to usual care. Specifically, the primary biomarker endpoint, change in hs-CRP, was significantly reduced by 25% among treated patients (−0.5 mg/L, interquartile range [IQR] [−6.9,0.4], within-group p = 0.011). Conversely, a non-significant 5.6% reduction was observed among usual care patients (−0.1 mg/L, IQR [−3.2,1.7], within-group p = 0.51). An unadjusted between-group primary biomarker analysis was non-significant (p = 0.082). Overall, this report provides evidence of an early anti-inflammatory effect of icosapent ethyl in a modest sample, including an initial well-tolerated loading dose, in symptomatic outpatients with COVID-19. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04412018.