Elan refutes Wall Street Journal story

DUBLIN, Ireland - Elan Corporation, plc.<br> issued today the following statement on today&#39;s Wall Street Journal article dated January 30, 2002.<br> <br> Donal Geaney, Chairman and CEO of Elan, commented, &#34;We believe that the Wall Street Journal article&#39;s portrayal of Elan ignores the tremendous scope of our pharmaceutical business and the depth of our research and development programs. <br> <br> Elan&#39;s portfolio of marketed products has contributed to over 90% of our revenue growth since 1998. We have world-class research programs in neurodegenerative diseases that are widely recognized by the scientific<br> community and by our industry partners. <br> <br> Our strategic venture partnerships are developing products and technologies that further support our extensive research platform. They have created value for our shareholders. These partnerships now have 27 drugs in human clinical trials and many preclinical candidates that Elan will have an opportunity to commercialize.<br> <br> &#34;Elan firmly rejects the one-sided allegations contained in today&#39;s Wall Street Journal. Elan&#39;s accounting practices are in accordance with U.S. GAAP and Irish GAAP. The company&#39;s accounting practices were thoroughly reviewed<br> by the SEC in 1999. The company&#39;s policies regarding its strategic joint ventures and business activities are fully disclosed in its SEC filings. <br> <br> Elan is confident that its accounting and business practices can stand up to any<br> scrutiny.&#34;<br> <br> Geaney concluded, &#34;We firmly believe that the issues as raised in today&#39;s Journal are simply a rehash of old news about matters that have been fully discussed. We are excited about the future of Elan and are focused on<br> creating innovative medicines that will benefit patients around the world.&#34;<br> <br> The company reconfirmed it will release fourth quarter and year-end 2001 earnings on February 4th and will hold a conference call at that time.<br> <br> Elan Corporation, plc. is a leading worldwide, fully integrated biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Ireland, with its principal<br> research, development, manufacturing and marketing facilities located in Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom.<br> <br> <br>

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