Drug to earn Elan €5.7m

ELAN Drug Technologies (EDT) — the drug delivery arm of Irish pharmaceutical firm, Elan — stands to make nearly $8 million (€5.7m), before additional payments, from its manufacture of a new multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment for US pharma firms, Acorda Therapeutics and Biogen.

The Athlone-based EDT operation already developed the drug, Fampridine-SR, in the US for Acorda. It will now manufacture the drug internationally, after Biogen (which also separately partners Elan on its MS treatment, Tysabri) signed a licensing agreement to commercialise the drug outside the US.