Elan shares dive after drug news

ELAN shares dived again yesterday, tumbling 55% after the ailing pharmaceutical firm announced further bad news on its key multiple sclerosis drug.

The firm said it had discovered a third case where a patient developed a rare but fatal disease while taking part in a trial of Tysabri.

Shares suffered a fresh collapse, falling from €5.50 to €2.50 on the Dublin market. The decline comes a month after Elan shares fell from €20 to just over €6 in a day, when it first revealed difficulties with Tysabri.