Biotech shares drop, Amarin plunges 20 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Biotech stocks were among the weakest sectors on Friday, falling as investors continued to take profit in the high-flying sector.

The Nasdaq Biotech index is down 0.9 percent, falling for a seventh session out of the past nine. Biotechs are a frequent target for profit-taking, as many investors view the group - which largely trades on future growth prospects and such volatile elements as drug pipeline progress - as overvalued.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals lost 1.2 percent to $93.10 while Amgen was off 0.9 percent to $137.64 and Regeneron Pharma lost 1 percent to $346.82.

Amarin Corp fell 20 percent on the Nasdaq, dropping to $1.44 after the company said the Food and Drug Administration had rejected a preset testing process for the second time. The stock was the biggest decliner in the Nasdaq Biotech index and was suffering its biggest one-day decline since Jan. 21. It is down almost 30 percent year-to-date.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski)