Profile: Elan Corp PLC (ELN)

Elan Corporation, plc (Elan), incorporated in December 1969, is a neuroscience-based biotechnology company. Its principal research and development, manufacturing and marketing facilities are located in Ireland and the United States. Elan’s operations are organized into two business units: Biopharmaceuticals and Elan Drug Technologies (EDT). Biopharmaceuticals engages in research, development and commercial activities primarily in neuroscience, autoimmune and severe chronic pain. EDT focuses on the specialty pharmaceutical industry, including specialized drug delivery and manufacturing. In September 2009, the Company and Johnson & Johnson announced that JANSSEN Alzheimer Immunotherapy, a newly formed subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets and rights of Elan related to its Alzheimer`s Immunotherapy Program (AIP).

The small molecule, ELND005, is a beta amyloid anti-aggregation agent that has been granted fast track designation by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Daily oral treatment with this compound has been shown to prevent cognition decline in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, with reduced amyloid plaque load in the brain and increased survival rate of these animals. In November 2008, the Company announced that the development program for ELND006, a small molecule gamma secretase inhibitor, had commenced with dosing in a Phase I clinical study, and other back-ups are in preclinical development. Tysabri is a treatment approved for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States and relapsing-remitting MS in the European Union.

Prialt is the non-opioid, intrathecal (IT) analgesic and represents a therapeutic option for interventional pain specialists. Prialt has had an impact in a range of chronic pain syndromes, especially in the area of severe neuropathic pain. Prialt is used in a variety of severe chronic pain patients, including patients with failed back surgery, regional pain syndrome, cancer, and other non-malignant causes. Azactam is a monobactam and is principally used by surgeons, infectious disease specialists and internal medicine physicians to treat pneumonia, post-surgical infections and septicemia. Tysabri is an alpha 4 integrin antagonist designed to inhibit immune cells from leaving the bloodstream and to prevent these immune cells from migrating into chronically inflamed tissue where they may cause or maintain inflammation.

EDT has a pipeline, with 15 products in clinical development, including three filed, four in Phase III, three in Phase II and five in Phase I. EDT’s pipeline spans a range of therapeutic classes, routes of administration and licensee profiles. EDT’s NanoCrystal technology is a drug optimization technology applicable to poorly water-soluble compounds. NanoCrystal technology involves reducing drugs to particles in the nanometer size.