Elan said today its third quarter revenues increased by 53% to $270.1m, compared to revenues of $176.6m in the third quarter of 2007.
The Athlone-based pharmaceutical firm reported an operating loss of $39.3m for the three month period, a decrease from the $63.6m for the third quarter in 2007.
The increase in revenue was driven by the continued growth of Tysabri, which generated in-market sales of $237m on a worldwide basis this quarter. That represented an increase of 154% over the $93.3m recorded the same time last year.
Elan said that its MS drug Tysabri is fast approaching blockbuster status, defined in the industry as revenues exceeding $1 billion a year. At the end of September, about 35,500 patients were using Tysabri worldwide.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Tysabri for the treatment of patients with Crohn's Disease in January. At the end of September, Elan said that about 200 Crohn's disease patients were on therapy.
The company said that total research and development expenses increased by 53% mainly due to the advancement of Elan's Alzheimer's disease programmes in the clinic.
Elan said that revenues from its biopharmaceuticals business increased by 85%, while revenue from the EDT business rose by 3%.
After a day in positive territory, shares in the company closed down 9% at €5.64 in Dublin this afternoon.
