Elan reaffirms Tysabri commitment
Pharmaceutical company Elan has forecast a €150m-€175m full-year before-tax loss, excluding revenues from its suspended MS drug Tysabri.
Revenue for the first three months of the year was $134.3m (€106m), ahead of analysts' forecasts of $127.1m (€100m).
Elan president Kelly Martin said: "Our first quarter results demonstrate continued progress across all areas of our company."
Executive vice president and chief financial office Shane Cooke said: "We are very pleased with the
progress we made across all our business and development activities during the first quarter.
"Revenues are up 31% and the net loss is down 71% over last year. This improved financial performance is largely due to growth in revenues, the continued improvement in operating margins, and the costs associated with the temporary suspension of Tysabri in February 2005, offset by the impact of expensing share-based compensation for the first time.
"We remain committed to making Tysabri available for patients in the United States and Europe and are confident that, with the financial leverage we have created over the last year, revenues from Tysabri will accelerate our return to profitability."
