Financials and Elan boost ISEQ

The ISEQ index of Irish shares was up 23.02 points to 6656.3 today, buoyed by strong performances by most of the financials, a 29c rise by Elan and a 35c jump by FBD Holdings.

AIB saw a 15c rise to €17.80, while Anglo Irish Bank was up 23c to €10.73. Irish Life and Permanent rose 10c to €14.50.

Bank of Ireland was the only one of the financials to see a fall, down 13c to €13.56. BoI today issued an optimistic assessment of the Irish housing market for the remainder of this year, saying that it expected mortgage lending to increase by €2bn this year to a total of €19bn.

Pharmaceutical company Elan saw a spike in its share value after clinical trial data found the company's multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, used in conjunction with Avonex, boosted a reduction in the risk of progression in the illness by 24%, as compared with the use of Avonex alone.

On February 28 this year, Biogen Idec and Elan suspended Tysabri from the US market and all on-going clinical trials based on reports of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare and potentially fatal, demyelinating disease of the central nervous system.

The companies previously reported three confirmed cases of PML, two of which were fatal. Two of the patients with confirmed PML had received Avonex plus Tysabri for over two years as part of a trial.

"These data demonstrate the effect of Tysabri on disability progression and clinical relapses. We continue to believe in the therapeutic benefit of Tysabri in MS, a disease with significant unmet medical need," said Biogen Idec boss Burt Adelman.

"Our extensive safety evaluation, in collaboration with leading experts and regulatory agencies, is on track and we hope to have findings by the end of the summer."