Irish Drug Company Moving To State

As Pfizer prepares to consolidate its drug research operations from the New London shoreline community to neighboring Groton, the U.S. operations of a much smaller Irish drug developer is deepening its presence in the Mystic section of town.

Amarin Corp., backed by a recent $70 million private equity bankroll from gold-plated investors on three continents, is stepping up its efforts to commercialize several classes of drugs in the multibillion-dollar market for treating heart disease and central nervous system ailments such as Parkinson’s.

In connection with the equity investment, Amarin has a new management team whose feet for the first time are planted on Connecticut soil. Amarin officials and other authorities say the company’s decision to consolidate its executive and clinical headquarters in the state is further evidence of Connecticut’s growing biosciences sector.

“It’s part of what you get when you have a vibrant cluster of biotech companies like we have,’’ said Paul Pescatello, president of Connecticut United for Research Excellence Inc., which promotes bioscience growth and development in the state. “It attracts other companies.’’

Management Team

Leading the new management team is Dr. Declan Doogan, the company’s research chief who has taken on additional duties as interim chief executive officer. The previous CEO, Thomas Lynch, remains Amarin’s chairman.

“We’re on our way and we’re putting that $70 million to good work,’’ said Doogan, a former Pfizer scientist who also teaches at Harvard University.

Amarin also brought in a seasoned financial and operations executive with a 20-year background running young, up-and-coming biotechnology companies. John Thoro of Massachusetts is Amarin’s new chief financial officer.

“What I like to do is find companies with interesting technology and good people and try to help advance them,’’ said Thoro, whose previous biotech stops included ViaCell in Cambridge, Mass., and Abiomed in Danvers, Mass.

With a staff of about a dozen researchers in offices in the Mystic section, Doogan said Amarin’s research and development expansion won’t lead to a hiring explosion. He said the Dublin, Ireland-based biopharmaceutical may eventually reach no more than 30 people in its Connecticut branch.

If anything, Amarin is being as frugal as possible despite the enthusiasm of its recent investors. It recently outsourced oversight of the Phase 3 clinical trial of its most promising drug compound to a contractor. That fits with the company’s model, Doogan said, to promote its drug development activities now underway on four continents — North and South America, Europe and Japan.

“This will never be a big location,’’ he said about Amarin’s Mystic operations. “We’re looking at being a virtual drug developer.’’

Blue Chip Investors

Amid the dearth of venture and equity capital many blame on the recession, Amarin drew a half-dozen backers who are a blue-chip roster of medical and biopharmaceutical institutional investors: Britain’s Fountain Healthcare Partners and Abingworth LLP; Sofinnova Ventures in California; OrbiMed Advisors in New York; Great Point Partners in Greenwich, and Boston’s RA Capital.

Helping them get beyond their concerns, Doogan said, was that Amarin recently settled with the Food & Drug Administration on “a very clear path’’ toward final review and approval of its prototype of a super-pure version of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid, found naturally in fish, and known as AMR101. The FDA approves all drugs to treat humans, an expensive and time-consuming process that is risky because approval is not always assured.

Even if approved, not all drugs or treatments become commercial blockbusters like sleep medication Ambien and sexual dysfunction treatment Viagra. Some, such as the cholesterol drug Baycol or the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx, get taken off the market due to health-safety concerns.

With AMR101 showing up as safe for humans, Amarin has become “a very attractive opportunity’’ for investors, Doogan said.

“We actually raised perhaps more than we needed,’’ he said. “It’s plenty adequate for our needs.’’