Prothena — the former drug discovery division of Irish biotech company Elan — is set to begin life as a stand-alone public company this week through a Nasdaq listing.

Restructuring costs have resulted in Elan showing a net loss of $216.2m (€167m) for the third quarter of 2012 — a period which, last year, generated net income of $3.5m.

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.