Efficacy and Safety of Long-term Coadministration of Fenofibrate and Ezetimibe in Patients with Combined Hyperlipidemia: Results of the EFECTL Study

AIM We investigated the safety and efficacy of a long-term combination therapy with fenofibrate and ezetimibe in Japanese patients with combined hyperlipidemia, in comparison with fenofibrate or ezetimibe alone. METHODS The study was a three-arm parallel-group, open-label randomized trial. Eligible patients were assigned to a combination therapy with fenofibrate (200 mg/day in capsule form or 160 mg/day in tablet form) and ezetimibe (10 mg/day), the fenofibrate monotherapy, or the ezetimibe monotherapy, which lasted for 52 weeks. The changes in serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides were the primary outcomes. RESULTS A total of 236 patients were assigned to one of the three treatments, and the number of patients included in the final analysis was 107 in the combination therapy, 52 in the fenofibrate monotherapy, and 51 in the ezetimibe monotherapy. Mean±SD changes in LDL cholesterol were -24.2%±14.7% with combination therapy, -16.0%±16.0% with fenofibrate alone, and -17.4%± 10.1% with ezetimibe alone. The combination therapy resulted in a significantly greater reduction in LDL cholesterol as compared with each monotherapy (p＜0.01 for each). The corresponding values for triglycerides were -40.0%±29.5%, -40.1%±28.7%, and -3.4%±32.6%, respectively. Fenofibrate use was associated with some changes in laboratory measurements, but there was no differential adverse effect between the combination therapy and fenofibrate monotherapy. CONCLUSION The combination therapy with fenofibrate and ezetimibe substantially reduces concentrations of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and is safe in a long-term treatment in Japanese patients with combined hyperlipidemia.