Elan sells Prialt's European rights to Eisai

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Feb. 9 - Elan Corp. plc announced Thursday that it has agreed to sell the rights to Prialt, the ziconotide, non-opioid severe chronic pain agent, in Europe to Eisai Co., Ltd. while retaining the product rights in the United States.

Under terms of the agreement, Elan may receive up to $100 million in cash, $50 million on the closing of the transaction, an additional $10 million on the earlier of two years from closing or launches of Prialt in key European markets, and an additional $40 million contingent on Prialt achieving revenue-related milestones in Europe, according to a company news release.

The closing of the transaction, expected in the first quarter of 2006, is subject to the receipt of relevant regulatory authority approvals and other customary closing conditions. Elan said it expects to record a gain on closing in excess of $40 million.

"Prialt is a highly innovative, approved, intrathecal analgesic for patients suffering from severe chronic pain. Patient need in this area remains significant given that there have not been any meaningful therapeutic advances in this area for more than two decades. We are delighted that this transaction will enable Eisai to offer this new therapy to patients throughout Europe," Kelly Martin, Elan's president and chief executive officer, said in the release.

In February 2005, the European Commission granted marketing approval for Prialt for the treatment of severe, chronic pain in patients who require intrathecal analgesia.

Prialt has been awarded orphan drug status in the European Union, which designates it as a product used for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of life-threatening or very serious rare disorders or conditions.

Prialt, developed by scientists at Elan, is in a class of non-opioid analgesics known as N-type calcium channel blockers. Prialt is the synthetic equivalent of a naturally occurring conopeptide found in a marine snail known as Conus magus, officials said. Research suggests that the mechanism of action of Prialt works by targeting and blocking N-type calcium channels on nerves that transmit pain signals.

The approval of Prialt was based on three independent pivotal studies, each of which demonstrated significant improvement on the Visual Analog Scale of Pain Intensity, a well-accepted pain outcome measure.

Prialt is marketed by Elan in the United States, where it was launched in the first quarter of 2005. Prialt revenue for full-year 2005 was $6.3 million, officials said.

Elan is a Dublin, Ireland, neuroscience-based biotechnology company dedicated to bringing innovations in science to fill unmet medical needs.

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