Pharmaceuticals firm Elan is considering a share buyback programme and restructuring measures as it attempts to bounce back from recent troubles, a source indicated yesterday. The moves may include strengthening Elan's board.

The Sunday Times newspaper yesterday said Elan was considering repurchasing shares worth €555 million. It said Elan was keen to simplify its balance sheet. A company spokesman would not confirm or deny the report.

Elan was the Republic's biggest publicly traded company until it lost more than 75 per cent of its market value this year in the face of a profit warning in February, setbacks to its Alzheimer's research programme and concerns about its accounting methods, which are the subject of an inquiry by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

In New York, where most Elan stock is traded, shares ended last week at $9.90, down from $45.06 at the start of the year. Elan is due to release second-quarter results and hold its annual meeting on July 31st.

Earlier this month the company, with headquarters in Dublin, reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of 2002. Announcing the results Elan's chairman and chief executive, Mr Donal Geaney, suggested the SEC inquiry could continue into the third quarter and beyond. It has led to a downgrading of Elan's credit rating to the equivalent of junk bond status.