Prescription medication · Omega-3 Fatty Acid
omega-3 acid ethyl esters
Also sold as Lovaza, Vascepa. This medicine is used to lower very high triglyceride levels.
Data updated 2026-05-15
- $0.17
- Generic price (NADAC)
omega-3 acid ethyl esters (Lovaza) is a prescription Omega-3 Fatty Acid. This medicine is used to lower very high triglyceride levels.
Omega-3-acid ethyl esters are a type of medicine that helps lower very high triglyceride levels in adults. You should also follow a healthy diet while taking this medicine.
Verify with FDA → · CMS NADAC pricing →
Drug Pricing (NADAC)
Generic Price
$0.17/unit
Generic Available
Yes (0 manufacturers)
Pricing data from NADAC (CMS), effective December 18, 2024. Compare all drug costs →
NADAC price trail: OMEGA-3 ETHYL ESTERS 1 GM CAP
Same CMS presentation as the headline generic unit price above (3 effective dates). Adjacent % compares consecutive NADAC releases for this description only, not a patient out-of-pocket quote. Latest step: +1.2% vs prior release.
| Effective | NADAC / unit | vs prior | NDCs |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 17, 2024 | $0.1813/EA | - | 2 |
| July 17, 2024 | $0.1714/EA | -5.5% | 1 |
| December 18, 2024 | $0.1735/EA | +1.2% | 11 |
What it does
This medicine is used to lower very high triglyceride levels.
Common side effects
Burping, Upset stomach, Changes in taste
Key warnings
If you have liver problems, your doctor should check your liver enzyme levels regularly.
The sections below are summarized in plain English from omega-3 acid ethyl esters's FDA-approved prescribing information. They describe what the official label says, and are not personal medical advice.
How It Works
Omega-3-acid ethyl esters are made from fish oil. They work by reducing the amount of triglycerides in your blood. The exact way they do this is not fully known.
Serious Warnings
If you have liver problems, your doctor should check your liver enzyme levels regularly. This medicine may increase your LDL cholesterol levels, so your doctor should also check those levels. If you have a fish or shellfish allergy, use this medicine with caution. This medicine might cause irregular heartbeats.
Common Questions
What should I do if I have a fish allergy?
Can this medicine be taken with other medications?
Will this medicine prevent a heart attack?
Can this medicine cause pancreatitis?
What if I experience side effects?
How quickly will this medicine lower my triglycerides?
Can I stop taking this medicine if my triglycerides are normal?
Are there other lifestyle changes I should make?
What do the capsules look like?
What ingredients are in the capsule?
What are the common side effects of omega-3 acid ethyl esters?
What drug class is omega-3 acid ethyl esters?
What pregnancy or breastfeeding source fields are listed for omega-3 acid ethyl esters?
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What the FDA Data Shows for omega-3 acid ethyl esters
The FDA label for omega-3 acid ethyl esters (sold under brand names such as Lovaza, Vascepa) classifies it as a prescription-only medication in the Omega-3 Fatty Acid class. This medicine is used to lower very high triglyceride levels. Official labeling lists 3 commonly reported side effects, including Burping, Upset stomach, Changes in taste.
Post-market surveillance from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) captures real-world experience. Voluntary reports accumulate over the lifetime of a drug and reflect wide-ranging clinical use. Interaction data is drawn directly from FDA-approved prescribing information. NADAC pricing from CMS shows a generic unit cost of $0.17.
Report counts do not establish causation, a FAERS entry documents a temporal association, not proof that the drug produced the outcome. Widely prescribed medications naturally accumulate more reports than niche therapies, so raw totals must be interpreted alongside total exposure. Shortage status, recall history, and patent information are separate source-record fields. This page is a public FDA/CMS registry and does not provide medical, treatment, substitution, or medication-change directions.
Data Sources
Drug labeling: FDA Drug Labels (SPL/DailyMed). Adverse events: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Pricing: CMS National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC).
FAERS reports are voluntary and do not establish causation. Drug interactions are derived from FDA labeling and clinical references. This registry does not provide medication decisions.
Last updated: October 6, 2023
PlainMeds is rendered directly from FDA openFDA/FAERS extracts, DailyMed labels, and CMS drug-pricing files, no number is typed in by an editor. FAERS counts, recalls, shortages, and price figures on this page are queried live from those federal extracts. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-05-15. Primary sources: openFDA / FAERS, DailyMed and CMS Part B ASP.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Data currency: FDA FAERS adverse-event reports through 2025, CMS NADAC acquisition-cost pricing effective December 2024, compiled from the source snapshot dated . See our methodology for per-source dates and refresh cadence. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a data issue.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FDA Orange Book - approved drug products with therapeutic equivalence. accessdata.fda.gov/cder/ob
- FDA DailyMed - NIH-hosted drug labeling for FDA-approved meds. dailymed.nlm.nih.gov
- FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) - post-marketing safety surveillance. fda.gov/drugs/faers
- NLM RxNorm - standardized clinical drug nomenclature. nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/rxnorm
- CMS Medicare Part B Drug Average Sales Price Files - federal drug pricing data. cms.gov/medicare/part-b-drugs/asp
- FDA Drug Shortages Database - current and resolved drug shortage tracking. accessdata.fda.gov/drugshortages