Biotech firm may not be sold until next year

AMARIN, the biotechnology firm developing a cholesterol drug, may not reach an agreement with a suitor until later this year or 2012, chief executive Joe Zakrzewski said.

The company, based in Dublin and Mystic, Connecticut, expects to file for US regulatory approval of the cholesterol medicine AMR101 in the next quarter and is in talks about potential licenses or a buyout, Mr Zakrzewski said.

“If you offer me $15 (€10.40) a share, I am waiting,” Mr Zakrzewski said. “If you offer $30, $40, $100 it’s a different story. There is a lot that can happen and the situation is very fluid.”

Amarin, which has no products on the market, almost doubled in value to $17.10 per American depositary receipt on April 18 after saying AMR101 met the goal of reducing levels of fatty chemicals in the blood in a late-stage study. The stock has declined 6.4% since as investors tire of waiting for a partnership or acquisition, said Duane Nash, analyst with Wedbush Securities in San Francisco.

“I think it’s going to happen further off late this year or early next year&,” Mr Nash said.

It may be more appropriate to wait until after filing for regulatory approval to seal a deal or to even postpone a decision to next year when the drug’s potential for approval is clearer, Mr Zakrzewski said.

Amarin would only consider a licensing agreement for sales outside the US while keeping the US market for itself, he said.