Three top executives at Amarin Corp., which has its R&D base in Stonington, will receive special cash bonuses of $150,000 to $250,000 if the company can convince regulators to expand the patient pool that can be treated by its blood-fat drug Vascepa, according to a public filing.
Those eligible for the one-time special payments include Amarin President John F. Thero; Steven Ketchum, president of R&D and senior vice president; and Joseph T. Kennedy, senior vice president and general counsel.
Vascepa, which contains fish oil, is approved only for treatment of patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia, which is characterized by high levels of triglycerides in the blood.
Amarin main goal is for the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to expand the drug’s label to allow treatment of patients with mixed dyslipidemia, a more common condition. That would be worth of a bonus of $250,000 for each executive.
If the FDA simply allows the company to include drug-trial data on the label, each man would receive $150,000.
If the FDA doesn’t grant it any of those options, Amarin has indicated it will sue to be allowed to inform doctors about the trial data. If that option is successful, each will get $150,000.
Amarin said its CEO and chairman, Joseph S. Zakrzewski, requested that he not be included in the bonus program.
