Amarin Corporation has initiated a company restructuring programme, following a business review by its new board of directors and senior management team.

The programme is expected to decrease its annual operating costs by $40m.

Amarin’s preliminary unaudited financial Q2 results showed a 23.5% decrease in product revenue from Q1 2023. This is in line with Q1 financial results, where the company posted a 9% decline in net revenue compared to Q4 2022. Amarin attributed this decline to the rise of generic variants of Vascepa (icosapent ethyl), a blood triglyceride-reducing medication, in the US.

The restructuring programme would focus on three areas. First, the company plans to downsize sales and non-sales personnel to increase Vascepa’s profitability and reduce overheads. Second, it will streamline operations in Europe to aid reimbursement and increase access to more regions. Third, Amarin will explore additional partnerships to penetrate markets in Canada, the Middle East, North Africa, China, Australia, and New Zealand.

The unaudited Q2 results report a $9m positive cash flow, including a licensing payment. The full results will be released on 2 August.

Amarin’s interim CEO Aron Berg said: “In the second quarter, our product revenue was impacted by increasing net pricing pressure and other inter-quarter variability in the US and we also saw slower than expected revenue materialisation and pricing and reimbursement access in Europe.

“As a result, we are taking decisive and significant actions to realign our business, which will maximise our strong cash position while putting us on the right path to enhance shareholder value.”

Amarin is not the only one facing a tough year, multiple pharmaceutical companies have announced layoffs or have entered mergers and partnerships to boost their profitability.