FDA approves the first generic for Amarin's Vascepa — but is a fish oil price war imminent?
Late last year, enthusiasm for Amarin’s fish-oil pill Vascepa burgeoned when the FDA signed off on expanding the cholesterol fighter’s label to include the drug’s beneficial impact on cardiovascular risk, but months later the exuberance for the blockbuster-to-be took a big hit when a judge invalidated key patents protecting Vascepa.
Despite Amarin’s $AMRN pledge to appeal — a process that could take months — the ruling opened the door for generic competition. Hikma Pharmaceuticals, one of three challengers in the Nevada suit, on Friday said that its generic copy of pure EPA, the omega-3 fatty acid that constitutes Vascepa, has been approved by the FDA.
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