The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office rejected Amarin Corp.'s /quotes/zigman/109177/quotes/nls/amrn AMRN -5.49% application for a patent covering an experimental heart drug derived from fish oil, causing the Dublin-based company's American depositary shares to fall as much as 9.5% Wednesday. The drug, code-named AMR101, would treat high levels of triglycerides, a fatty substance in the blood linked to risk for heart problems. Some observers have projected its annual sales exceeding $2 billion. Amarin had applied for a U.S. patent covering a method of treating high triglycerides with the active ingredient in AMR101. The PTO, however, issued a final rejection of the application on Aug. 12, according to a docket item on the PTO website.
