Shares in pharmaceutical company Elan continued to tumble in Dublin today, having fallen 43% yesterday.
And the company's woes have been compounded by two major US law firms launching class action suits against the company for allegedly defrauding investors.
Elan closed down almost 18% to €16 euro - a fall of €3.50. This dragged the ISEQ index as a whole down by a further 3.5% after a 6% drop yesterday - the ISEQ closed at 4,899, down 172 points.
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes and Lerach said it had initiated proceedings in a southern California court, while Wolf Haldenstein Alder Freeman and Herz said it had filed a suit in New York.
Elan said it believed the suits were 'entirely without merit'.
The share price, which had already been hit by last week's controversy over the company's accounting practices, plummeted further yesterday after it reported full-year results.
Elan's 2001 revenues were up 22%, while net profit was $697m, but the company predicted slower earnings growth this year due to delays in introducing new drugs and a $225m investment programme including more on R&D, sales and marketing.
