Elan Corporation plc was a major drugs firm based in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland, which had major interests in the United States. It was listed on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

as ELN, the

Irish Stock Exchange Euronext Dublin (formerly the Irish Stock Exchange, ISE; ) is Ireland's main stock exchange, and has been in existence since 1793. The Euronext Dublin lists debt and fund securities and is used as a European gateway exchange for companies seek ...

as ELN.I, and the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

as ELN.L. In 2013, the company merged with Perrigo to form Perrigo Company PLC.

History

The company was founded in Ireland by American businessman

Don Panoz Donald Panoz ( or ; February 13, 1935 – September 11, 2018) was an American entrepreneur who founded two pharmaceutical companies. Early life Panoz was an Italian-American. His father, Eugene Panunzio, immigrated to the United States from ...

in 1969. In the late 1990s, its value on the

reached over

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

20bn. However, in 2002, an

accounting scandal Accounting scandals are business scandals that arise from intentional manipulation of financial statements with the disclosure of financial misdeeds by trusted executives of corporations or governments. Such misdeeds typically involve complex ...

and

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...

reactions to the global slump, caused a major devaluation resulting in a share price slump of over 90%. In July 2010, Élan was fined $203m for its marketing of epilepsy drugs. In February 2013, Elan decided to dispose of the rights to sell Tysabri to

Biogen Idec Biogen Inc. is an American multinational biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States specializing in the discovery, development, and delivery of the treatment of neurological diseases to patients worldwide. Biogen ope ...

for $3.25 billion.

Products in development

neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...

, Elan was focused on building upon its research and experience in the area of neuropathologies such as

Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, where the company’s efforts included programs focused on small molecule inhibitors of

beta-secretase Beta-secretase is a protein family that includes in humans Beta-secretase 1 and Beta-secretase 2. References {{enzyme index Single-pass transmembrane proteins ...

and

gamma secretase Gamma secretase is a multi-subunit protease complex, an integral membrane protein, that cleaves single-pass transmembrane proteins at residues within the transmembrane domain. Proteases of this type are known as intramembrane proteases. The most ...

, enzymes whose actions are thought to affect the accumulation of the

amyloid plaques Amyloid plaques (also known as neuritic plaques, amyloid beta plaques or senile plaques) are extracellular deposits of amyloid beta (Aβ) protein that present mainly in the grey matter of the brain. Degeneration (medical), Degenerative neuronal ...

found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. An example of such a molecule is

semagacestat Semagacestat (LY-450139) was a candidate drug for a causal therapy against Alzheimer's disease. It was originally developed by Eli Lilly and Elan, and clinical trials were conducted by Eli Lilly. Phase III trials included over 3000 patients, but ...

. Elan also studied other

neurodegenerative A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mul ...

diseases, such as

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. Élan, in collaboration with

Wyeth Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. was a pharmaceutical company until it was purchased by Pfizer in 2009. The company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1860 as John Wyeth and Brother. Its headquarters moved to Collegeville, Pennsylvania, a ...

, conducted a

Phase III clinical trial The phases of clinical research are the stages in which scientists conduct experiments with a health intervention to obtain sufficient evidence for a process considered effective as a medical treatment. For drug development, the clinical phase ...

for

bapineuzumab Bapineuzumab (nicknamed "bapi") is a humanized monoclonal antibody that acts on the nervous system and may have potential therapeutic value for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and possibly glaucoma. However, in 2012 it failed to produce sig ...

, an experimental humanized monoclonal

antibody An antibody (Ab) or immunoglobulin (Ig) is a large, Y-shaped protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily which is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize antigens such as pathogenic bacteria, bacteria and viruses, includin ...

with a targeted indication of immunotherapeutic treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. This humanized monoclonal antibody is designed and engineered to clear the

neurotoxic Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specifical ...

beta-amyloid peptide, that accumulates in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Although initial results from an earlier

Phase II clinical trial The phases of clinical research are the stages in which scientists conduct experiments with a health intervention to obtain sufficient evidence for a process considered effective as a medical treatment. For drug development, the clinical phases ...

presented in July 2008 were inconclusive, Elan is hopeful that bapineuzumab will prove successful in the treatment of this disease. In autoimmune diseases, Elan’s primary emphasis was studying cell trafficking to discover ways to provide disease-modifying therapies for

autoimmune In immunology, autoimmunity is the system of immune responses of an organism against its own healthy cells, tissues and other normal body constituents. Any disease resulting from this type of immune response is termed an " autoimmune disease" ...

diseases such as

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

, and

inflammatory bowel disease Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine, with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine and large intestine ...

. Research efforts were also focused on physiological and

neuropathic Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, refers to damage or disease affecting the nerves. Damage to nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland function, and/or organ function depending on which nerve fibers are affected. Neuropa ...

pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sense, sensory and emotional experience associated with, or res ...

. Previously named Antegren,

natalizumab Natalizumab, sold under the brand name Tysabri among others, is a medication used to treat multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease. It is a humanized monoclonal antibody against the cell adhesion molecule α4-integrin. It is given by intrav ...

is a drug co-marketed by

and Élan as "Tysabri". Tysabri is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits immune cells from crossing blood vessel walls to reach various tissues, including the brain. It has proven efficacy in the treatment of two serious autoimmune disorders:

, and

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elan 1969 establishments in Ireland 2013 disestablishments in Ireland 2013 mergers and acquisitions Companies formerly listed on Euronext Dublin Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Manufacturing companies based in Dublin (city) Organisations based in Athlone Pharmaceutical companies established in 1969 Pharmaceutical companies disestablished in 2013 Pharmaceutical companies of Ireland