Irish biopharma group Amarin booked wider losses in the second quarter of the year, despite revenues of $5.5 million from its new cholesterol-lowering medicine Vascepa.

The blockbuster drug, which was launched in January, brought revenues of $5.5 million for the company between April and June, the first full quarter in which it was sold.

Vascepa, which is Amarin’s first FDA-approved drug, also recognised revenues of $2.3 million for the company for the first quarter of the year.

However, these sales were not enough to narrow first half losses at the firm.

The company reported a net loss of $39.8 million (€29.7 million) in the second quarter, bringing overall losses for the first six months of the year to $101.9 million. Amarin’s liabilities at the end of June totalled approximately $273 million.

During the six months to June-end, net cash outflows included approximately $48.2 million paid for sales and marketing related expenses in conjunction with the initial commercial launch of Vascepa.

The company said it hopes to increase revenues from sales of Vascepa in the second half of the year, adding that it continues to make significant progress in its effort to expand patent protection for Vascepa and now has 27 patents issued or allowed in the United States.

Last month, Amarin completed a public offering resulting in additional net proceeds of approximately $121.1 million.

"While we didn't like raising money at the price we did, we decided to get the financing behind us. Moreover, we decided to raise enough money, $121 million in net proceeds, rather than a lesser amount because we wanted to make it clear that we were financing the needs of the company to a level which under most scenarios, would prevent us from having to come back for additional support," Amarin chief executive officer Joe Zakrzewski said.