High purity EPA-E is commercially available in the trade names of Epadel™ and Epadel S™ (manufactured by Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) as therapeutic drugs for hyperlipidemia. There has been reported that when such high purity EPA-E is orally administered at 600 mg per administration and 3 times a day immediately after meal (when TG is abnormal, the dose is increased to the level of 900 mg per administration and 3 times a day), serum T-Cho concentration can be reduced by 3 to 6%, and serum TG can be reduced by 14 to 20% (see Non-Patent Document 1). There has also been reported in The Heart Failure Society of America 2005 Annual Meeting that, based on such action, such high purity EPA-E was expected to have the effects of improving cardiovascular events in hyperlipidemia patients, and combined use with HMG-CoA RI was effective in inhibiting cardiac events in a large scale clinical trial. In this large scale clinical trial (DELIS, Japan EPA Lipid Intervention Study), statistically significant suppression of the cardiac events by the EPA-E was confirmed for the total of the primary prevention patients and secondary prevention patients, and for the secondary prevention patients. On the other hand, in the analysis limited to the primary prevention patients, the incidence of the events was lower in the EPA-E group (the group administered with EPA-E in combination with HMG-CoA RI) compared to the control group (the group administered with solely with HMG-CoA RI), while this difference was not statistically significant. This trial also revealed that after 5 years from the start of the trial, the LDL-cholesterol value reduced by 26% in both of the EPA-E group and control group, that no significant difference was found between these groups, and that change of the HDL-cholesterol value was slight in both groups (see Non-Patent Document 2). This trial also revealed that the total cholesterol and the LDL-cholesterol decreased by 19% and 25%, respectively, in both the EPA-E group and the control group, and that triglyceride decreased by 9% (significant) and 4% in the EPA-E group and the control group, respectively, while little change in HDL-C was noted in both the EPA-E group and the control group (see Non-Patent Document 3). There is so far no report that has analyzed prevention of the occurrence of the cardiovascular events in the case of patients having two or more risk factors.
Patent Document 1: WO 00/48592 (JP 2002-537252 A)
Non-Patent Document 1: Drug Interview Form “EPA preparation, Epadel capsule 300”, revised in July, 2002, and February, 2004, version 21 issued in December, 2004; pp. 21-22.
Non-Patent Document 2: Medical Tribune, issue of Nov. 17, 2005, Feature article 3, pp. 75-76.
Non-Patent Document 3: Lancet, vol. 369, pages 1090 to 1098 (2007).