Shares in Elan stage a minor recovery

ELAN shares staged a minor recovery yesterday, undoing some of the damage suffered by Thursday’s crash that cut their value in half.

The shares ended the day 30c higher at €2.70, representing a nice little gain for investors that bought on the back of news that a third patient had developed a fatal disease while taking the company’s Tysabri multiple sclerosis drug.

But trading volumes were significantly lighter, with shares worth just €6 million changing hands. This was about half the level of trading seen on Thursday, when the share price crumbled by 55%.