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A novel omega-3 free fatty acid formulation has dramatically improved bioavailability during a low-fat diet compared with omega-3-acid ethyl esters: the ECLIPSE (Epanova(®) compared to Lovaza(®) in a pharmacokinetic single-dose evaluation) study

Davidson MH, Johnson J, Rooney MW, Kyle ML, Kling DF

Journal of clinical lipidology, 2012

54 participants

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Omega-3 (OM-3) fatty acid products are indicated for the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia; however, the omega-3-acid ethyl ester (OM-3 EE) formulations require significant pancreatic lipase stimulation with high-fat meals for adequate intestinal absorption of the metabolites eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). A novel omega-3 free fatty acid (OM-3 FFA) formulation (Epanova(®), Omthera Pharmaceuticals Inc., Princeton, NJ) was developed to maximize EPA and DHA bioavailability during a low-fat diet.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the relative bioavailability of EPA and DHA from single 4-gram doses of OM-3 FFA and a prescription OM-3 EE (Lovaza(®), GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, NC).

METHODS: This was a randomized, open-label, single dose, 4-way crossover, bioavailability study of OM-3 FFA and OM-3 EE administered during periods of low-fat and high-fat consumption to 54 overweight adults. Bioavailability was determined by the ln-transformed area under the plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC(0-t)) during a 24-hour interval for EPA and DHA (baseline-adjusted).

RESULTS: The baseline-adjusted AUC(0-t) for total EPA + DHA during the low-fat period was 4.0-fold greater with OM-3 FFA compared with OM-3 EE (2650.2 vs 662.0 nmol·h/mL, respectively; P < .0001). During the high-fat period, AUC(0-t) for OM-3 FFA was approximately 1.3-fold greater than OM-3 EE (P < .0001). During the low-fat period, 30 of 51 (58.8%) subjects dosed with…

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Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 54 participants or records.

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