Is there any difference in the cardiovascular risk reduction profile of brand name Vascepa versus generic icosapent ethyl for patients with hypertriglyceridemia?

The major clinical trial data (Bhatt et al., PMID 30415628) showing benefit for Icosapent Ethyl were with medication provided by the company that ultimately branded the medication. That is no different from the clinical trials showing the benefit of statins or anti-hyperglycemic medications. We do not avoid prescribing generic statins or SGLT2 inhibitors, so the same would apply to the medication in question.

This is a clinical practice pragmatic approach, as we will not have cardiovascular endpoint studies comparing branded to generic medications.