Amarin Highlights New Data Providing Potential Mechanistic Insight into Vascepa/Vazkepa (Icosapent Ethyl) Reduction of Cardiovascular Events

— New Research Demonstrates Multifactorial Beneficial Effects of VASCEPA/VAZKEPA on Coronary Physiology and Plaque Progression —

--Data Further Advances Understanding of VASCEPA/VAZKEPA Potential Mechanism of Action--

DUBLIN, Ireland and BRIDGEWATER, N.J., May 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amarin Corporation plc (NASDAQ:AMRN) today highlighted new data describing the benefits of VASCEPA/VAZKEPA (icosapent ethyl) on coronary physiology, which was published in the European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging, and plaque progression, which was presented at the American Heart Association’s Vascular Discovery 2023 meeting in Boston, MA, May 10-13.

The studies and their key findings follow:

Benefit of Icosapent Ethyl on Coronary Physiology Assessed by Computed Tomography Angiography Fractional Flow Reserve: EVAPORATE-FFR_CT

The EVAPORATE trial assessed the efficacy of VASCEPA/VAZKEPA in reducing plaque burden among patients on stable statin therapy with known angiographic coronary artery disease (CAD). EVAPORATE demonstrated that in statin-treated patients, VASCEPA/VAZKEPA significantly reduced plaque burden measured by serial coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) compared with placebo.

The objective of the EVAPORATE- FFR_CT study, which appeared online in the European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging, was to assess the impact of VASCEPA/VAZKEPA on coronary physiology assessed by fractional flow reserve derived from coronary CTA data sets (FFR_CT) using imaging data from EVAPORATE.ⁱ FFR_CT has been associated with various clinical outcomes, such as the safe deferral of invasive coronary angiography, cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction, and revascularization^ii,iii.

This study is the first assessment of FFR_CT to determine drug effect, and there was significant improvement in the pre-specified primary endpoint of FFR_CT value in the distal coronary segment from baseline to follow-up in the most diseased vessel per patient using VASCEPA/VAZKEPA compared with placebo. VASCEPA/VAZKEPA improved mean distal segment FFR_CT at 9- and 18-months follow-up compared with placebo (P = 0.02, P = 0.03 respectively). The secondary endpoint, change in translesional FFR_CT (Δ FFR_CT across the most severe (minimum 30%) diameter stenosis) coronary lesion per vessel was improved with VASCEPA/VAZKEPA treatment compared with placebo, although it was not statistically significant (P = 0.054).