Elan shares are up 8 per cent today after the pharmaceutical maker and its US partner Biogen said a new safety study of their key drug Tysabri showed no new cases of a potentially fatal brain disorder.
Elan and Biogen are seeking to get Tysabri back on the market after its withdrawal in February. At 12.45pm Elan shares were trading at €7, a rise of 38 cents on the Dublin market.
They said this morning the safety study of Tysabri in patients with Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis showed no new cases of a potentially fatal brain disorder.
The companies said there were no new confirmed cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), mirroring the results of a similar safety study of Tysabri in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Davy Stockbrokers analyst Jack Gorman welcomed the result - which came from an evaluation of 1,500 Crohn's and RA patients - as "another positive step".
Ireland's Elan and US group Biogen are seeking to get Tysabri back on the market after its withdrawal in February following the death of an MS patient from PML.
Two further cases were later confirmed, one of which also proved to be fatal. Industry analysts hailed Tysabri as a potential blockbuster when it was unveiled in November 2004 because clinical data suggested it was more effective than existing MS treatments.
Elan, which has clawed its way back from near-collapse three years ago, has been pinning its future on Tysabri, formerly known as Antegren.