Why Do Amarin Shareholders Want a Buyout?

With Amarin's (NASDAQ:AMRN) new triglyceride-lowering drug Vascepa approved and potentially ready for launch starting in 2013, some decisions have to be made now about how the drug is going to be marketed -- and who's going to do it. Many investors want to see a buyout so that a drugmaker with a larger marketing department can more easily promote Vascepa. However, with the drug's new chemical entity, or NCE, status still up in the air, it seems as though buyout negotiations are on hold. This means that Amarin might be launching this drug on its own. In this video, health care analysts Max Macaluso and David Williamson discuss why shareholders are hoping for a buyout and some of the risks that many small and mid-sized pharma companies face when marketing new therapeutics.