Fountain Healthcare and Abingworth lead Amarin fund raising

Amarin, a NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, has raised US$70m through a private placement.

The placement was led by an existing investor and Irish VC firm Fountain Healthcare Partners, on behalf of other existing investors Sofinnova Ventures – the US sister company of Paris-based Sofinnova Partners – Orbimed Advisors – a US healthcare investment fund – and Longitude Capital – a US venture firm specializing in medical and biotechnology investments.

The placement also saw a group of new investors, led by UK VC Abingworth, and including APG Asset Management – a Dutch pension fund manager – Great Point Partners – a US growth capital firm focused on healthcare – Tavistock Life Sciences Company – the biotech VC arm of investment group Tavistock – and RA Capital – a US investment bank.

Amarin specializes in cardiovascular disease and will use the US$70m raised to finance two Phase 3 clinical trials with its AMR101 drugs in patients with very high cholesterol levels, as well as paying off a US$1.9m bridge loan.