Dallas, Texas 03/10/2014 (FINANCIALSTRENDS) – Amarin Corporation plc (ADR)(NASDAQ:AMRN) has reportedly filed a suit against the manufacturer of the drug called Epanova. The pharmaceutical which actually makes the product is Omthera Pharmaceutical, a company which is currently held by Astra Zeneca.
Epanova is a drug which is used to treat or manage cholesterol, especially to lower the cholesterol. The suit filed by the company is that, the drug infringes on one of the patents held for Vascepa.
The fight now intensifies as there are three accredited players in this segment. Apart from Amarin’sVascepa, Epanova by Omthera Pharmaceuticals (AstraZeneca) and the third player GSKs Lovaza are also aiming to server the same segment of target users.
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca hopes that the Food and Drug Administration, which is the regulatory body for drugs in the US hopes to sail through the suit, likely to be heard by May 5, 2014.
Amarin Corporation plc (ADR)(NASDAQ:AMRN) has been affected by the sale of GSK’s Lovaza, which has reported over $1 billion in sales.
Amarin Corporation plc (ADR)(NASDAQ:AMRN) announced its fourth quarter results in the last week of February. The company has seen the fourth quarter EPS of -$0.226 and missed the consensus rate by $0.04.The revenue currently is at $10.1 million, which is missing the end result by $1.07 million.
Vascepa is a fish oil pill, and in July 2012, when FDA had approved it, it was felt that only if it could find the right partner would be a blockbuster drug in the US. For this it needed a partner who had the experience and the funds to invest in marketing besides, having to match all the regulatory indications in the country. The downside of this expectation was that, FDA approved the drug for a limited period only and later it withdrew some of the possible assessment which may have led to higher lengths of approval for the company.