Loss Narrows for Elan

Among other products, fourth-quarter sales of the intravenous antibiotic Maxipime fell to $46.2 from $46.8 million for the same period in 2005. The basic U.S. patent expires next month, and two other U.S. patents expire in 12 months.

Sales of the injectable antibiotic Azactam rose 22% to $21.3 million even though its patent expired in October 2005. No generic version has entered the market yet. The chronic-pain treatment Prialt produced sales of $3.4 million, up from $2 million. Manufacturing revenue and royalties rose 15% to $67.3 million.

By early afternoon, Elan's shares were off 31 cents, or 2.1%, to $14.50. The Tysabri news had been factored into Elan's stock last week when Biogen Idec announced its fourth-quarter results. Biogen Idec's Feb. 15 report on Tysabri sent Elan's stock up 9.1% for the day.

Two months ago, Elan and Biogen Idec asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve Tysabri for treating Crohn's disease, an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.

In addition to Tysabri, the other key issue for Elan this year is when, or if, it advances an experimental Alzheimer's disease drug into the third and final stage of clinical testing. Elan is collaborating with Wyeth(WYE) on the drug called AAB-001.

Last October, Elan said it would conduct an interim analysis of clinical-trial data by year-end to determine when it would enter the third phase of clinical trials. On Tuesday, it said starting Phase 3 testing is one of its "key objectives" for this year, "dependent upon interim analyses of the Phase 2 data."

The company is working with Wyeth an another Alzheimer's drug, dubbed ACC-001, which is in Phase 1 clinical trials. Elan hopes to move this compound into a second round of clinical testing this year. It also hopes to start Phase 2 clinical trials on AZD-103, another Alzheimer's drug, via a collaboration signed in September with Toronto's Transition Therapeutics.

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