Irish pharma giant Elan will be under the spotlight next month as the company seeks shareholder approval for a number of acquisitions including Austrian rare drug specialist AOP Orphan and Dubai-based sales and marketing firm Newbridge pharmaceuticals.

The biotechnology company is also seeking approval at its EGM on June 17th for an additional $200 million share buyback programme, to commence in the near future, bringing to $1.2 billion the amount returned to shareholders this year.

Initiatives
Elan last week announced a number of initiatives to reshape the business. These include the acquisition of a set of royalty flows from Theravance in its respiratory disease portfolio, buying AOP Orphan for €263.5 million and the purchase of a 48 per cent stake in Newbridge pharmaceuticals.

If all transactions are approved, Elan will have spent $3.3 billion cash on a combination of M&A, share buybacks and bond redemptions.

Royalty streams
Elan would thus comprise a series of potential royalty streams, an owned late-stage pipeline in specific orphan drug indications and regional diversity, according to Davy equity analyst Jack Gorman.

In addition, the annual operating expenditure at centre would be reduced by approximately $80 million.