Is Amarin a Buy?
Amarin (NASDAQ: AMRN), a $5.7 billion biotech stock focused on treating cardiovascular diseases, has recently become one of the most-watched stocks in the healthcare sector. Its signature omega-3 fish oil drug, Vascepa, has been used for patients with high triglyceride levels for a while. However, the company surprised investors when it announced in August that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will convene on whether the drug could be used to reduce the chance of heart attacks and strokes in high-risk patients with cardiovascular disease.
Should the drug receive approval from the FDA to treat these patients, it would see a drastic increase in use as a tool to help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol outside the use of conventional cholesterol-lowering drugs such as Mevacor and Lipitor. As such, Amarin could quickly find itself with a blockbuster drug on its hands. While the FDA's final ruling isn't expected to take place until Dec. 28, the initial meeting between the agency and Amarin is scheduled for Nov. 14. After this initial hearing, shareholders will get a much clearer picture of the drug's prospects in the eyes of regulators.
With a couple of weeks remaining until this happens, biotech investors are placing their bets on what will happen. In the meantime, it's worth taking a moment to look over Amarin's fundamentals as well as the pros and cons surrounding Vascepa as a treatment. While there's a strong bullish case to be made for the company, investors need to look at the whole picture before deciding if now is a good time to buy.
Source Fool.com
