Elan partner not a takeover target

ELAN said yesterday that it is fully committed to its multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri after its production partner — the US-based company Biogen Idec — announced it was not about to be taken over and would remain independent.

Earlier this year, Biogen was touted as a potential takeover target for a number of players such as Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Pfizer and one of its own shareholders, US billionaire Carl Icahn.

In October, as a direct reaction, Dublin-headquartered Elan signed up international investment bank Lehman Brothers to advise it on its possible options should Biogen be sold.

Those options included it acquiring the 50% of Tysabri owned by Biogen, selling off its own interest in the drug entirely or simply continuing with the agreement in place.

However, earlier this week Biogen’s board of directors said that after completing its strategic review aimed at maximising shareholder value, the company would continue on its present course as an independent firm. It added that it had not, in fact, received any definitive offers to purchase the company from external sources.

Elan said yesterday that it was committed to Tysabri “and the patients who are and will benefit from this treatment”.

“Specifically, Elan intends to continue to work effectively with Biogen Idec on securing FDA approval (for Tysabri’s use in the Crohn’s disease treatment market in the US) and realising the full potential of Tysabri in the multiple sclerosis marketplace,” it added.

The company is also awaiting the green light for Tysabri to be introduced to European patients as a treatment for Crohn’s Disease. The relevant regulators in both the US and Europe are likely to give their recommendations during the first quarter of next year, with the US decision likely to come by early January.

In October Elan said it expected Tysabri to become profitable by the end of this year and to have 100,000 prescribed users by the end of 2010.