Amarin shares soar after fish oil tablet pares back risks of heart disease in trial

Shares of Amarin Corporation Plc (NASDAQ:AMRN) are rocketing in Monday’s pre-market session after the Irish biopharmaceutical company reported that its fish oil pill Vascepa greatly reduced risks of cardiovascular disease.

Amarin’s prescription fish oil pill cut back on cardiovascular events when measured against a placebo in a trial, which examined 8,179 adults who were already suffering from heart disease and were being treated with statins.

The results were welcomed by investors who sent Amarin’s shares up more than four-fold to US$12.32 before the ringing of Monday’s opening bell.

Looking at the details, patients enrolled in the trial who took Vascepa showed a 25% relative risk reduction of major adverse cardiovascular events compared to those who took the placebo.

The so-called Reduce-It study was examining Vascepa’s utility as an additional therapy used by patients with heart problems who were already taking statins to address elevated triglyceride levels.

“We are delighted with these topline study results,” said Amarin CEO John Thero in a statement. “Given Vascepa is affordably priced, orally administered and has a favorable safety profile, REDUCE-IT results could lead to a new paradigm in treatment to further reduce the significant cardiovascular risk that remains in millions of patients with LDL-C controlled by statin therapy, as studied in REDUCE-IT.”

Amarin will present additional information from this late-breaking trial at the 2018 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association on November 10, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.

The Reduce it study kicked off in 2011 and was conducted based on a special protocol assessment agreement with the US Food and Drug Administration.

Amarin, which has offices in Bedminster, New Jersey and Dublin, Ireland, focuses on developing therapeutics to improve cardiovascular health. Vascepa, which is its first FDA-approved drug, is available by prescription in the US, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.

Story by ProactiveInvestors