Elan appoints five new board directors

Pharmaceutical developer Elan announced today the appointment of five new members to the company's board of directors.

Pharmaceutical developer Elanannounced today the appointment of five new members to the company's board of directors.

The three new non-executive board members are Göran Ando, Gary Kennedy and Nancy Lurker, and the two new executive board members are Shane Cooke and Lars Ekman.

Elan issued a positive annual general meeting statement last week about the prospects of getting regulators to review its multiple sclerosis (MS) drug, Tysabri.

The treatment was withdrawn after fears that it was responsible for the death of patients on clinical trials.

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After the meeting, investors decided it was worth backing the company again, and it gained 63 cent to close at €6.20, which at 11.31 per cent was one of the biggest gains of the day.

The company saw losses nearly double in the first quarter on the back of the suspension of Tysabri.

The drug was withdrawn after two patients on a clinical trial developed a rare and generally fatal neurological condition called Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy.

Elan and its US partner in the Tysabri programme, Biogen Idec, suspended sales of the drug as a treatment for MS just over a month after it had won approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.