Elan takes action against Pfizer

ELAN said it is seeking binding arbitration with American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer over research into a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Athlone-based Elan said yesterday that it was taking the action to protect its rights over the research, which could eventually lead to a treatment of the disease.

The two companies entered into an agreement to co-operate on research in August 2000, but Elan said that it had terminated the agreement because it believed that Pfizer had breached some of the terms of the deal. Elan did not specify which parts of the agreement had been broken.