Amarin Corp Plc (AMRN)

[rosemountbomber]

When the FDA checks the Generics for bioavailability, they are checking for EPA not the ethyl ester form. It is absorbed as EPA. Active moiety as Sleven said, but you seem to disregard this.

Think of say, the blood pressure drug, Metoprolol. It is available as Metoprolol tartrate and metoprolol succinate, with the succinate form having greater liposolubility.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20638827/

"The use of marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) as supplements has prompted the development of concentrated formulations to overcome compliance problems. The present study compares three concentrated preparations - ethyl esters, free fatty acids and re-esterified triglycerides - with placebo oil in a double-blinded design, and with fish body oil and cod liver oil in single-blinded arms. Seventy-two volunteers were given approximately 3.3g of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) daily for 2 weeks. Increases in absolute amounts of EPA and DHA in fasting serum triglycerides, cholesterol esters and phospholipids were examined. Bioavailability of EPA+DHA from re-esterified triglycerides was superior (124%) compared with natural fish oil, whereas the bioavailability from ethyl esters was inferior (73%). Free fatty acid bioavailability (91%) did not differ significantly from natural triglycerides. The stereochemistry of fatty acid in acylglycerols did not influence the bioavailability of EPA and DHA."