On Monday, March 30, a district court judge in Nevada ruled in favor of two generic drug companies seeking to invalidate patents covering Vascepa, a fish oil product developed and marketed by Amarin (NASDAQ: AMRN). Investors witnessed $3.3 billion in valuation go up in smoke as the stock plummeted as much as 70%.
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Amarin's Vascepa gained U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2012 as a treatment to reduce triglyceride levels in adults with severely elevated triglycerides. Importantly, last December, the FDA expanded the initial indication to include Vascepa's ability to reduce cardiovascular events, like strokes and heart attacks, in patients with established cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes.