Amarin Corp Plc (AMRN)

[CaptBeer]

Humm? Kiwi, Chew on this for a while:

The 24% relative risk reduction in coronary revascularization observed with administration of EPA alone compares with the reduction seen in trials of statins vs. placebo, which also averaged 24% reduction (per 1.0 mmol/L reduction in LDL-C).1–4 Interestingly, the benefits of EPA administration were not seen when EPA was administered along with DHA, as reduction in incident revascularizations was a mere 5%. Of note, this figure closely matches the non-significant 6% reduction in revascularizations recently observed in the STRENGTH trial, which administered 4 g/day of a formulation of EPA + DHA.

The observation that reduction in events was largely confined to studies administering EPA alone, and not observed in studies employing the combination of EPA + DHA, may provide an explanation for the discrepant results previously reported with respect to the effects of omega-3 supplementation, which used a variety of different formulations of these molecules. Reasons for the seemingly peculiar effects of EPA when administered alone are unclear, but appear not directly related to the decrease of triglyceride levels. EPA and DHA have different chemical structures, which may lead to divergent effects on susceptibility to oxidation of lipoproteins, and on stabilization of cell membranes, both favorably influenced by EPA but not DHA33,34,58–65; beneficial effects of EPA, but not DHA, have also been reported on markers of inflammation and on endothelial and platelet function.33,34,58–65 Thus, the fact that DHA may exert disparate or even contrasting pharmacological effects compared with EPA suggests that addition of DHA might diminish or counteract the benefits of EPA, thus explaining the failure of combined formulations of EPA + DHA to show significant benefits.