Dallas, Texas 09/19/2013 (Financialstrend) –A biopharmaceutical company, Amarin Corporation plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:AMRN) is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Its focus remains on development and commercialization of therapeutic products based on lipid science for the treatment for cardiovascular diseases. Its lead product includes Vascepa, indicated to reduce triglyceride levels in patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia. Amarin Corporation plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:AMRN)’s market capitalization is worth $1.14 billion. The stock of the company witnessed 3% gain on Wednesday, September 18. The stock traded in the range of $6.31 to $6.64 and closed at its day-high. The 52-week range is $5.12 to $14.30. The stock has gained over 10% in last one month session.
Amarin Corporation plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:AMRN)’s lead product, Vascepa – an omega3 fish oil therapy, is the company’s first and only FDA approved product launched in the United States in January 2013. The product generated $5.5 million sales in 2Q13 and around $7.8 million in 1H13 with normalized prescriptions rising from around 10,500 during 1Q13 to nearly 47,300 in 2Q13.
The lead competitor of Vascepa is Lovaza – another omega3 fatty acid treatment licensed by GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (NYSE:GSK). Lovaza achieved peak sales of over $1 billion and with its first patent expired in March 2013 and second expiring in 2017, its generic versions would also target the market pretty soon. As per the agreement with Apotex, it is allowed to manufacture generic version of Lovaza by 2015. However Vascepa enjoys the advantage over Lovaza in efficacy and safety profiles as it does not raise LDL levels.
Another potential threat could be from AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN) which has planned a large scale cardiovascular trial for its new product and proven effective it will directly compete with Vascepa as well as Lovaza for the market share.
On the opportunity front, Amarin Corporation plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:AMRN) awaits FDA review on Vascepa’s potential use in patients with high triglycerides and given the nod the drug would cater to estimated ten times larger market. The Vascepa also enjoys, one of the most exclusive patent portfolios, with 30 patents issues and over 30 additional applications pending in the United States.