RETIRING ELAN chief executive Kelly Martin received $1 million in salary last year.

The pay of Mr Martin, who is due to step down from his post after nine years in May, was 8.5 per cent higher than in 2010.

However, a major increase in bonus payments boosted his overall package by 68 per cent to $2.89 million, according to documents filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US stock market regulator.

Mr Martin received a bonus of $1.875 million, compared to $1 million the previous year.

However, his benefit in kind plunged sharply to just under $3,000 from more than $42,000 in 2010.

The remuneration of former chief financial officer Shane Cooke was $467,594, well down on the $1.2 million he earned in 2010.

Mr Cooke resigned from Elan’s board in September when he joined Dublin-based US group Alkermes as part of the deal that saw Elan sell its drug technology business.

Overall, boardroom pay at Ireland’s largest indigenous biotech group was $4.44 million, up from $4.24 million in 2010.