Shares in Irish drugmaker Elan drifted lower this afternoon despite speculation that Swiss drugmaker Novartis was in talks to buy components of the company.
Confirmation of a 10th case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) from patients using its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, which is marketed with Biogen Idec, weighed on the stock. Biogen confirmed the case after markets closed on Friday.
With over 40,000 patients on Tysabri the rate of PML, at one in 4,000, remains well below the FDA's limit of one in 1,000.
Shares in Elan rose by over 6 per cent in early trade and on light volumes but by 3.25pm were trading at €5.04, a fall of 0.6 per cent in Dublin.
A spokeswoman for Elan said today the company did not comment on speculation. A spokesman for Novartis declined to comment.
The Sunday Timessaid a "well-placed source" confirmed the talks but added the "complexity of the deal made a decision some way off".
Elan hired Citigroup in January to conduct a review of the business and said at the time a merger or sale of the company was possible.
It said on June 10th it expected to conclude a strategic transaction "in the near term", after talking over the past few months with a number of the global players in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
Reuters