A senior Elan executive, who was centrally involved in the recent Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations, has left the company and joined leading Dublin law firm BCM Hanby Wallace.
Mr Colin Sainsbury, the lawyer who oversaw the $1.5 billion (€1.2 billion) restructuring of Elan, is joining BCM as a partner specialising in corporate law.
Mr Sainsbury was employed by Elan Pharmaceutical Technologies, the company's drug delivery division, as vice-president and general counsel from 1996-2002.
In July last year he was promoted to the role of senior vice- president of Elan Corporation by incoming chairman Mr Garo Armen.
In this role, Mr Sainsbury played a leading role in the restructuring of Elan. This involved the sale of assets worth in excess of $1.5 billion.
He was centrally involved in managing the legal aspects of the SEC investigation into Elan's accounting policies and the related litigation involving class-action suits by some Elan shareholders.
Mr Gary Byrne, managing partner of BCM, said: "Colin is one of the country's outstanding corporate lawyers and we are delighted that he's joining our corporate team. The experience and skills he has developed over the past number of years will be of enormous benefit to our existing clients."
BCM is one of the State's fastest-growing law firms. The firm recently moved to a new head office in the former Children's Hospital on Harcourt St following a redevelopment of the site.
Last week, Elan sold its European sales and marketing business to Medeus UK for $120 million. Medeus is a new UK pharmaceutical company backed by venture capital firm Apax Partners Funds.
Elan said the total consideration was $120 million and that it was retaining operations in Athlone and its research and development operations in Stevenage in the UK.
It also anticipated selling certain rights to two products in the UK and Ireland for $10 million.
"Divesting these operations is consistent with our strategy of focusing on areas that are essential to our future and enables us to tailor our European sales and marketing efforts towards our pipeline products," said Mr Kelly Martin, Elan's president and chief executive.
