What is another name for omega-3-acid ethyl esters?

The names that all point at the same medicine

Omega-3-acid ethyl esters is the generic pharmaceutical name, and the aliases a reader meets all resolve to it. Omacor is the originator brand and the name UK prescriptions and pharmacy shelves know best. Lovaza is the identical product's brand name in the United States, which is why American articles and forums use it interchangeably. Generic dispensing labels read omega-3-acid ethyl esters, often with the pack strength, 1000mg capsules at the classic 460mg EPA and 380mg DHA specification. And the pharmacopoeial grade name, omega-3-acid ethyl esters 90, describes the specification itself, roughly 90% total omega-3 acid content, the quality standard inside all of the above rather than a separate product. Informally, doctors and patients shorten the lot to prescription fish oil or omega-3 capsules on prescription, loose but harmless labels for the same object, a licensed lipid medicine for severe hypertriglyceridaemia taken at 2g to 4g daily under monitoring.

The names that are not synonyms, and why the distinction matters

Two neighbouring names cause the real confusion. Icosapent ethyl, branded Vazkepa in the UK and Vascepa in the US, is not another name for omega-3-acid ethyl esters: it is a different medicine, purified EPA only, with its own cardiovascular outcome trial and its own indication, and swapping the names conflates two products a prescriber distinguishes deliberately. And ethyl ester fish oil on a supplement shelf is not the medicine either: same chemistry family, food law rather than medicines law, retail strengths rather than pharmacopoeial specification, the lane distinction the 1g-capsule page's PL-number check settles in seconds. The distinction matters in both directions this section always polices: a reader prescribed Omacor or its generic takes that exact product as written, never a shelf lookalike wearing a similar name; and a reader who met the name Lovaza in an American thread and went shopping for it in the UK is looking for a prescription conversation, not a basket, because none of these names is available to buy.

The verdict, and each reader routed by the name they arrived with

What is another name for omega-3-acid ethyl esters: Omacor at the UK pharmacy, Lovaza in American writing, the generic dispensing name on the box, and the 90 grade underneath them all, with icosapent ethyl firmly excluded as a different medicine and retail ethyl esters excluded as a different lane. The routing follows the name you arrived holding: a prescription name goes back to the prescriber and the pharmacist who own it; an American forum name translates to a GP conversation here; and an everyday omega-3 intention was never in this glossary at all, landing instead on the supplement shelf where the worked example sits, Futuro Labs Omega 3 Fish Oil, plainly named, 300mg of EPA and DHA with dinner, £14.99 for 90 days at 17p, lab-tested, UK made, no aliases required.

What to check on the label

Questions people also ask

Is Omacor the same as omega-3-acid ethyl esters?

Yes: Omacor is the originator brand name of the generic medicine, dispensed in the UK for severe hypertriglyceridaemia.

What is omega-3-acid ethyl esters called in America?

Lovaza: the identical product under its United States brand name, which is why US articles use the two interchangeably.

Is Vazkepa another name for it?

No: Vazkepa is icosapent ethyl, a purified EPA-only medicine with its own trial and indication. A prescriber chooses between them deliberately.

Can I buy any of these names over the counter?

No: every name in the medicine column is prescription-only. Retail ethyl ester supplements share the chemistry family but are a different, food-law product.

My relative takes Lovaza abroad: what is the UK equivalent?

Omacor or generic omega-3-acid ethyl esters, via a UK prescriber: the product is the same, and the route to it is a GP conversation, not a shelf.

Sources

1. Futuro Labs Omega 3 Fish Oil listing: 1000mg fish oil per softgel providing 180mg EPA and 120mg DHA, 90 softgels. Amazon UK, accessed 31 August 2026. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CP9T3BTN
2. Electronic medicines compendium (emc): Summaries of Product Characteristics for omega-3-acid ethyl esters 1000mg capsules (Omacor and generics) and icosapent ethyl (Vazkepa). https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/search?q=omega-3-acid+ethyl+esters
3. Commission Regulation (EU) No 536/2013 authorising health claims for DHA and EPA: maintenance of normal blood triglyceride concentrations (2g DHA+EPA/day) and normal blood pressure (3g DHA+EPA/day), with a supplemental limit note of 5g/day. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32013R0536
4. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products. Scientific opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to EPA and DHA and normal function of the heart (250mg daily condition of use). EFSA Journal 2010;8(10):1796. https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1796

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