Elan has sold a drug-delivery research and development operation based at Trinity College to an Irish start-up, which recently secured $25 million (€20.6 million) in funding.

Adaptív Biopharma, founded in 2003, secured the funding from biotechnology venture fund GrowCorp, which is part-funded by Irish airline entrepreneur Dr Tony Ryan.

The firm has used a portion of the cash to acquire Elan's intellectual property portfolio of more than 25 patents in the field of oral drug-delivery.

It has also negotiated a new lease with Trinity, which previously hosted the Elan drug-delivery research arm.

Adaptív has negotiated the use of Trinity's laboratory and research equipment. It has also established a subsidiary in the US to market its technology, which enables firms to develop drugs that can be ingested rather than injected.

The company is reassembling a team of researchers at Trinity to work on its pipeline of drug-delivery technologies. This team was disbanded when Elan decided to exit this drug-delivery business as part of its asset sale.

Mr Mike McKenna, Adaptív's chief executive, said the firm planned to hire 15 research staff by the end of 2003, and up to 50 staff next year.

Mr McKenna, who has worked in the pharmaceuticals industry for 25 years, said the firm had decided to retain the research arm in the Republic rather than the US.

Ireland is a force in pharmaceuticals and we are seeing it move into research and development, he added.