Amarin, the drug development company run by former Elan executives, plans to take a listing in Dublin and London.

Its board will announce later today that it intends listing on the Irish Enterprise Exchange (IEX), the Dublin market for small and developing companies, and on the London equivalent, the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

Amarin is already listed on New York's Nasdaq exchange, the market favoured by technology and biopharmaceutical stocks. It is taking the Dublin and London listing to make it easier for its existing Irish and European-based investors to trade the shares and to raise the company's profile at this side of the Atlantic.

The move is also aimed at spreading its shareholder base through the US, Ireland, Britain and Europe.

The company will not be seeking to raise cash when it takes the new listing. However, as it is still working on the development of treatments for Huntingdon's disease, which affects the nervous system, Parkinson's disease and depression, it is likely that it will raise money from the markets in the future.

Last December it raised $24.5 million (€19.3 million) from investors. Amarin will have 20 business days from today to take up its listing on both exchanges, so it is likely that it will begin trading in both markets at some point next month.

When the shares begin trading here, their opening price will be determined by the previous night's close in New York. They were trading yesterday around the $2.32 mark, valuing the company at $190 million. Amarin does not have any debt and has $33 million in cash to fund its available activities. Its operations are based here and in the UK.

The company's founders and directors include former Elan chairman Tom Lynch and former Elan financial director Alan Cooke.