Japan approves Elan nanocrystal drug

ELAN’s drug delivery business, Elan Drug Technologies, is set to benefit from the first drug using its patented nanocrystal technology being approved for the Japanese market.

Emend, a treatment for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and developed by a subsidiary of international pharmaceutical giant, Merck has gained approval by the Japanese Ministry of Health after the drug proved to be effective for both acute and delayed phases of nausea andvomiting in Japanese clinical trials.

“The Japanese approval is an incremental positive for EDT, particularly as the first product incorporating nanocrystal technology to gain approval in the country,” said Ian Hunter of Goodbody Stockbrokers.