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.

ELAN has shelved plans to spin-off its Athlone-based drug delivery business EDT due to negative market conditions.

A DECISION regarding the future status of Elan’s drug-delivery business – Elan Drug Technologies (EDT) – may not be made until next year.

ELAN is expected to arrive at a decision regarding the future status of its drug delivery division, EDT, before the end of the summer – with a separate stock market listing the likely outcome.

IRISH pharmaceutical company, Elan is re-examining the possibility of separating its Athlone-based Elan Drug Technologies (EDT) business from the main group.

ELAN expects to show a full-year operating profit for the first time in nearly a decade this year, after reporting a 56% fall in annual losses for 2009.

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.

ELAN has updated its full-year guidance to allow for a forecast of adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $75 million (€50m), after it reported a switch from net loss to net profit for its third quarter.

Pharmaceutical giant Elan today reported profits of $52.3m (€35m) for the third quarter of 2009, compared to a loss of $83.5m (€55m) for the same period last year.

AN Elan subsidiary will make up to $30 million (€21m) over two years after a drug made using its trademarked NanoCrystal technology was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

POSITIVE second quarter results from Elan have supported recent claims made by the company’s management that the business is on the road to recovery.

Pharmaceuticals company Elan has said its revenues strongly increased (to $526m, or €370m) in the first six months of the year.

US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson has acquired an 18.4% stake in Elan as part of an overall $1.5 billion (€1.07bn) investment.

IRISH drug making firm, Elan formally confirmed yesterday that it will retain its R&D arm, EDT (Elan Drug Technologies), “for the foreseeable future” due to the ongoing tightening in the credit markets.