Shares in Elan closed 7 per cent higher yesterday as the company reported better-than-expected data from an ongoing trial of its multiple sclerosis (MS) drug, Antegren.
Elan, which is developing the drug with its partner, Biogen Idec, released one-year data from the Phase III trial of the drug.
The international study of 942 patients showed a 66 per cent reduction in the relapse rate for those on Antegren compared with a placebo group.
This compared with a 50 per cent reduction in an earlier study and is well ahead of the relapse reduction rates enjoyed by current therapies which are closer to 30 per cent.
"Natalizumab (Antegren) has the potential to make a real difference in the lives of MS patients," Elan's head of research and development, Dr Lars Ekman, said. "We are working closely with regulatory authorities to make natalizumab available to patients in need as soon as we can."
Elan and Biogen have submitted regulatory applications for the approval of Antegren in the US, EU, Canada and Australia. The US Food and Drug Administration is expected to make a decision on the drug before the end of the month.
Shares in Elan jumped by 12 per cent in Dublin following release of the trial data. But a more muted response in New York, where the shares rose by around 5 per cent to $29.38, later dampened the enthusiasm of Irish investors. In Dublin, the stock closed 7.6 per cent higher at €22.98.
"The reality is still that Antegren needs approval without qualifications," said one market source in Dublin, noting that the shares had failed to breach the $30 level in New York.
The study also found that Antegren may be safer than other treatments. The data showed that adverse effects, such as headache, fatigue and joint pain, occurred in at least 5 per cent of patients on Antegren, 2 per cent more than the placebo-treated group. But the overall incidence of infection was similar between the groups. Serious infections occurred in 2 per cent of patients treated with Antegren and 1 per cent of placebo-treated patients.
Analysts welcomed the data, saying it improved Antegren's chances of becoming the leading treatment in an MS market expected to be worth between $7 billion and $8 billion in coming years.
But Swiss biotechnology group Serono said it expected its drug Rebif would be number one in the global MS market by 2006 despite the likely arrival of Antegren.
Serono's head of scientific affairs, Mr Andrew Galazka, described the Antegren data as "incomplete and highly selective" and predicted Antegren would have a slower uptake in the US market than Rebif.
