Tysabri: biggest-selling drug

DRUG maker Elan is hoping to sell its multiple sclerosis treatment, Tysabri, in a number of non-European countries and the United States.

The drug currently has about 55,000 users spilt evenly between the US and Europe, but Elan said last week that it is looking to gain approval to sell it in other countries.

"There are a number of markets that we are looking at launching in and are getting ready to launch in like China, Russia [and] India," Elan's finance chief Shane Cooke said on a conference call.

Tysabri is the company's biggest-selling drug. Elan, which has a large manufacturing plant for the drug in Athlone, said Tysabri generated sales of nearly $216m for the company in the three months to the end of September, 15% higher than in the same period a year earlier. The number of MS sufferers using the drug rose by 9,000, or nearly 20%. The company also said last week that it was on track to make a profit of $150m this year.