Elan Corporation, plc and Cambridge Antibody Technology Create Major Alliance For Human Monoclonal Antibodies in Neurological Disease

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Elan Corporation, plc and Cambridge Antibody Technology Create Major Alliance For Human Monoclonal Antibodies in Neurological Disease

    DUBLIN, Ireland and MELBOURN, England, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Elan
Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) ("Elan") and Cambridge Antibody Technology
(LSE: CAT) ("CAT") today announced a strategic partnership committed to the
development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of human neurological
disorders.  The companies will jointly discover and develop antibody-based
therapeutics targeted at a variety of neurological diseases and disorders.
CAT will contribute its proprietary antibody phage display technology and high
throughput screening capabilities to the alliance, which will capitalize on
Elan's proven track record in drug discovery and development of treatments for
neurological disorders.
    Under the terms of the four-year agreement, the two companies will fund
all research and development jointly and share commercialization profits
equally.  CAT will have primary responsibility for the discovery and
optimization of human antibodies against multiple targets identified by Elan.
Elan will evaluate clinical antibody candidates in preclinical models, manage
clinical and regulatory development and will be responsible for global
commercialization.  Elan and CAT together have already identified over
40 targets in the field that will immediately become the focus of this
alliance.
    Commenting on the alliance, Dr. David Chiswell, chief executive officer of
CAT said: "This is a unique opportunity to combine CAT's powerful human
antibody technology with the expertise of Elan to take cutting edge
therapeutic products for neurological disease all the way to the market.  This
exciting new alliance represents the commitment of yet another world leading
company to CAT's approach of integrated, customized antibody drug development.
This reflects CAT's objective, stated last year, to invest in building our
drug pipeline.  Elan and CAT share the view that the significant unmet medical
need in a wide range of neurological diseases may be met by a portfolio of
human antibody-based drugs."
    Commenting further, Donal J. Geaney, chairman and chief executive officer
of Elan said: "This alliance with CAT, a leading company in antibody
technology, strengthens Elan's commitment to basic research in the area of
neurological disorders.  We are truly excited by the potential for novel
therapeutics to emerge from the synergistic combination of our experienced
neurological research group with the accomplished scientists in CAT."

    Elan Corporation, plc is a leading worldwide fully integrated
pharmaceutical company headquartered in Ireland, with its principal research,
development, manufacturing and marketing facilities located in Ireland, the
United States and Israel.  Elan is focused on the discovery, development and
marketing of therapeutic products and services in neurology, pain management,
oncology, infectious disease and dermatology and on the development and
commercialization of products using its extensive range of proprietary drug
delivery technologies.  Elan shares trade on the New York, London and Dublin
Stock Exchanges.

    CAT is a UK biotechnology company using its proprietary technologies in
human monoclonal antibodies for drug discovery and drug development.  Based in
Melbourn, 10 miles south of Cambridge, England, CAT currently employs around
200 people.
    CAT is listed on the London Stock Exchange, having raised 41m pounds
sterling in its IPO in March 1997.  A secondary offering in March 2000 raised
93m pounds.  CAT has a world-leading platform technology for rapidly isolating
human monoclonal antibodies using phage display systems.  CAT has an extensive
phage display antibody library, currently incorporating around 100 billion
distinct antibodies.  This library forms the basis for the company's strategy
to develop a portfolio of clinical development programs and for discovering
new drug leads using functional genomics.  Four fully human therapeutic
antibodies developed by CAT are at various stages of clinical trials.  CAT
works in partnership with other companies at all stages of the drug discovery
and development process.  CAT's collaborations, past and present, include:
AstraZeneca, BASF Pharma, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Genetics Institute, Genzyme,
Human Genome Sciences, Immunex, Oxford GlycoSciences, Pharmacia, Pfizer,
Wyeth-Ayerst and Zyomyx.

    Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including,
without limitation, risks associated with the inherent uncertainty of
pharmaceutical research, product development and commercialization, and the
impact of competitive products and patents, as well as other risks and
uncertainties detailed from time to time in periodic reports, including Elan's
Annual Report for 1999 on Form 20-F as filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission.  The company assumes no obligation to update information
on its expectations.

SOURCE Elan Corporation, plc

http://www.elan.ie
Company News On-Call:

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CONTACT:
Investors, U.S.: Jack Howarth, 212-407-5740,
800-252-3526; Investors, Europe: Emer Reynolds, +353-1-709-4000,
+00800-28352600; Media: Max Gershenoff, 212-407-5740,
800-252-3526, all of Elan Corporation, plc