By Everdeen Mason
Amarin Corp. (AMRN) filed a complaint Tuesday against rival
Omthera Pharmaceuticals and its owner AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
LP (AZN), claiming that its soon-to-launch cholesterol drug Epanova
violates one of Amarin's patents.
Amarin said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued it a
patent that covers methods of lowering triglycerides by
administering a pharmaceutical composition that includes amounts of
EPA as free acid and no more than about 30% DHA. The
biopharmaceutical company said the upcoming launch of Epanova, a
treatment for patients with severe hypertriglyceridaemia, violates
that patent.
A representative from AstraZeneca wasn't available for
comment.
Omthera, acquired by AstraZeneca last year, submitted a new drug
application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Epanova
last year, and received approval in September.
Amarin said in a Securities and Exchange filing Tuesday that it
intends to pursue litigation vigorously and will aggressively
protect its intellectual property rights.
Amarin and AstraZeneca shares closed Monday at $1.73 and $66.90
a share respectively, and were inactive premarket.
Write to Everdeen Mason at everdeen.mason@wsj.com
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