Elan closes sites, cuts jobs

Ireland's Elan announced today that it would close its New York and Tokyo offices in the first quarter of 2009 as part of a cost-cutting and restructuring plan. The drug developer didn't say how many jobs would be cut, though Pharmalot reports that 114 positions will go--7 percent of the company's workforce.

Elan says the cuts will help it focus on its most promising pipeline products, and will save the company €20 to €25 million in cost per year. "We continually evaluate our pipeline, product portfolio, and company structure with a goal of maintaining our flexibility and ability to invest in the most valuable product opportunities for patients while driving value for our shareholders," said CEO Kelly Martin in a statement.

Speaking of Martin (photo [1]), the Elan CEO has the dubious honor of being picked as The Street's worst biotech CEO of 2008. Biotech writer Adam Feuerstein slams Martin for talking up the experimental Alzheimer's therapy bapineuzumab. Martin, he said, enticed analysts and portfolio managers to invest in Elan with the promise that bapineuzumab would offer the first real breakthrough for Alzheimer's treatment--despite the fact that the drug was only in mid-stage trials. The drugmaker has also struggled with sales of it's multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, which contributed to an overall stock decline of 64 percent this year.

- here's the article [2] on Martin
- see Elan's release [3] on the layoffs
- read the Pharmalot post [4]
- check out the Irish Times report [5]

Related Articles:
Elan considers selling division [6]
Cinven drops out of bidding for Elan division [7]
Elan hires ex-Lilly exec Paya as new prez [8]
Elan shareholders file lawsuit [9]
Elan scouts Dublin-area sites for plant [10]