Amarin initiates CV drug program

Amarin Corp has initiated a cardiovascular development strategy to capitalize on the known therapeutic benefits of unsaturated fatty acids in cardiovascular disease. The US firm plans to utilize its know-how and experience in lipid science to develop a series of products targeting the vascular system, endothelial dysfunction and vascular re-modeling.

Rick Stewart, the firm's chief executive, commented: "while neurology remains Amarin's core focus, the new cardiovascular strategy capitalizes on existing assets which already have an established safety and efficacy profile in Japan. Consequently, this is a logical extension from Amarin's existing therapeutic base for ultra-pure eicosapentanoic acid and its derivatives. The expansion of Amarin's therapeutic reach into diseases with a significantly greater prevalence than neurological disease enhances our development portfolio mix and creates added value from our lipid technology platform."

Amarin intends to commence a series of clinical trials with AMR 101 (97% pure EPA) in dyslipidemia, the first of which will commence by the end of this year. In addition, the company intends to commence investigation of new compounds from its existing development portfolio for the treatment of metabolic syndrome and dyslipidemia.