Elan, the Irish drugs firm, today announced total revenue increased by 30% in the second quarter of 2008 to $245.6 million, compared to the same period in 2007. The net loss for the second quarter of 2008 decreased by 49% to $71.5 million from $141.1 million in the second quarter of 2007.

The increase in revenue was driven by a strong performance from Tysabri, with Elan's recorded sales increasing almost threefold to $133.4 million in the second quarter of 2008, more than compensating for the reduced sales of Maxipime following the introduction of generic competition in June 2007. Total in-market sales of Tysabri were $200.0 million in the second quarter 2008, an increase of 177% over the $72.1 million recorded in the same quarter of 2007.

Commenting on Elan's business, Kelly Martin, Elan's president and chief executive officer, said, "Disciplined execution and tangible results for the benefit of patients and shareholders continue to be our enduring tenet. We are encouraged by the recently reported top-line results from our Phase 2 trial of bapineuzumab which provides further validation of our approach. We look forward to sharing the full clinical data later this month. In addition, we are pleased to celebrate the second anniversary of Tysabri in MS and the launch of Tysabri for Crohn's patients. We will continue to demonstrate focused and disciplined leadership that will provide continuous progress that ultimately leads to benefits for our shareholders, patients, and their caregivers."

Commenting on Elan's second quarter financial results, Shane Cooke, Elan's executive vice president and chief financial officer,said, "We are very pleased with the results for the second quarter of 2008, which reflect the excellent progress we are making across all our businesses and development programs. Revenues grew by 30%, driven by another strong performance from Tysabri and we are confident that, for the full year, Elan's revenues will approach the $1 billion mark. Growth in Tysabri, which recently celebrated its second anniversary, continues to accelerate and with about 31,800 patients on therapy globally we are confident it will reach blockbuster status on a run rate basis in the coming months and our target of 100,000 patients on therapy by the end of 2010.

The loss for the second quarter of 2008 decreased by 49% as a result of the 30% increase in revenues, strong cost management and the inclusion of charges in the second quarter of 2007 related to the impact of generic competition on Maxipime."

Cooke added, "The continued acceleration in the growth of Tysabri, coupled with reduced SG&A expenses, more than offsets our increased investment in R&D, as a result of the continued progress in our key development programs, and the loss of sales of Maxipime due to generic competition. We remain on track to record Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) losses of less than $50 million for the year and to exit the year profitable on an Adjusted EBITDA basis."