THE main Irish subsidiary of US pharmaceutical firm, Forest Laboratories this year paid a dividend of $3 billion (€2.15bn) to its US parent, new figures show.

IRISH drugs group Elan and its partner Biogen have withdrawn sales of its multiple sclerosis drugs after a patient died from the rare and often fatal central nervous system disease, sending shares of both drug makers tumbling.

THE European Commission has given Elan marketing approval for its drug Prialt, a painkiller derived from a tropical sea snail.

Internet search giant Google has completed an audit that clears the way for an anticipated filing of an initial public offering (IPO) as early as this week, according to US press reports.