Elan posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter net loss of $0.14 per share today and said it was optimistic that suspended MS drug Tysabri would make a comeback.
Analysts had been expecting a net loss for the three months to the end of December of $0.185 compared to a loss of $0.27 in the same period last year.
The group said cost cuts following Tysabri's withdrawal would speed up a return to profit.
The company said it was optimistic about the return of Tysabri and that in 2006 it would spend $150 million to $170 million on developing and marketing a drug that was withdrawn last February following the death of a patient.
US regulators will meet on March 7th to weigh up the risks of the MS treatment's return, but Elan said its investment decision assumed "the potential remarketing of Tysabri in the US in the second quarter of 2006 and the potential launch of Tysabri in Europe in the second half of 2006."
Once adjusted to exclude costs related to getting its Tysabri MS treatment back on the market, Elan said the company's loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA loss) was $216.9 million.
Analysts had expected a loss of $245 million.
Elan said it expected negative 2006 EBITDA, excluding Tysabri-related revenues, of $150 million to $175 million. Elan forecast revenues, without any Tysabri sales, would exceed $500 million versus $490.3 million in 2005.