Elan shares down 50% after Tysabri revelation
Shares in Athlone-based pharmaceutical firm Elan have fallen in value by more than 50% on the Irish stock exchange this morning.
The drop comes after the company discovered a third case of PML in a patient treated with its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri.
The patient, who died in December 2003, was originally believed to have died of a form of brain cancer.
Elan share price was down to €2.90 after a €2.60 drop this morning.
The exchange overall dropped 36.30 to 6009.79, despite a rally by a number of stocks compared to yesterday morning's performance.
Kingspan was up 20c to €9.40 after the building materials firm announced the negotiation of a $200m private placement of debt with a group of US investors.
The proceeds of the issue have been converted into euro and will be used to repay existing bank borrowings and for general corporate purposes.
Ryanair performed well today, up 14c to €6.05.
The financials were also faring better. Anglo Irish Bank clawed back 40c of yesterday's losses. The bank is trading now at €19.30. The shares tumbled sharply yesterday amid concern about the impact of reporting rules from the International Financial Reporting Standards on the bank's earnings.
Bank of Ireland rose 8c to €12.20. AIB saw the same rise of 8c to €16.16. Irish Life and Permanent stay level at €13.85.
