Irish-American pharmaceutical company Alkermes has increased its full-year profit forecast for the second time in three months.

Elan is to hive off its drug discovery division Neotope Biosciences and continue as a profitable standalone company — a move which has heightened speculation that it is trying to position itself as a takeover target.

Elan has reported an 11.2% year-on-year rise in first-half revenue, to $576.4 million (€474m); but came up short of market estimates in the second quarter of the year.

Specialist financial services sector journal Finance Dublin has selected Irish Dairy Board’s innovative new €190m corporate loan facility among its prestigious award winners for 2012.

Better-than-expected sales of multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri boosted first-quarter revenue at Irish drug company Elan by 17% to over $288m (€218m).

Drugmaker Elan’s fourth quarter revenues fell by a higher-than-expected 14% on the sale of its drug delivery business, a hit it sees itself making up for through sales of multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri in 2012.

Alkermes — the US biopharmaceutical group — has witnessed the first benefits of its takeover of Elan’s Athlone-based drug delivery arm, with third-quarter revenues rising by more than 185%.

MERGER costs relating to its takeover of Elan’s former drug delivery unit, EDT, has resulted in biopharmaceutical group, Alkermes posting a net loss of $22.3 million (€16.2m) for the second quarter of its current financial year.

ELAN is aiming to double its revenues to about $2.5 billion (€1.78bn) and the number of patients using its multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri over the next five years.

ALKERMES Plc says it will manufacture drugs in Athlone for “one of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies” in a deal that may generate from $15 million to $20m (€11m-€15m) in annual revenue by 2016.

US DRUG firm Alkermes expects to complete its acquisition of Elan’s drug delivery business next week and move its headquarters to Dublin by the end of the year, after shareholders approved the deal yesterday.

ELAN has agreed to sell its Athlone, Co Westmeath- based drug delivery unit EDT (Elan Drug Technologies) to US firm Alkermes for nearly $1 billion in a cash and equity deal.

Athlone-based pharmaceutical company Elan is selling its Westmeath unit to US biotechnology firm Alkermes.