Elan & PPD Announce Global Business Relationship in Drug Development


Elan, plc and PPD, Inc. recently announced they have formed a global business collaboration focused on the advancement, progression, and execution of Elan’s development portfolio. The primary objective of this relationship is to deploy both companies’ skills and expertise in a flexible, integrated manner to drive the execution of Elan’s clinical programs in a parallel and expedited basis and on a global scale.

Under this business agreement, PPD will act as Elan’s primary service provider for all development functions and activities. Elan will retain ownership of its assets and accountability for decision-making with regard to strategy and progression of the individual molecules as well as the overall portfolio. This business construct will enable Elan to leverage the significant and high-quality capabilities of PPD across project and data management, biostatistics, regulatory, clinical and medical monitoring, quality assurance, pharmacovigilance, and other areas. Elan and PPD intend to work closely to build upon this initial relationship and continuously explore opportunities to leverage both companies’ respective competencies and maximize the full opportunity of moving Elan’s science into clinical development and advancing toward patients.

“Establishing this strategic collaboration with PPD will enable Elan to accelerate the progression of our science into the clinical development setting in a rapid and global fashion,” said Eliseo Salinas, Chief Medical Officer, Executive Vice President and Head of Development for Elan. “The ability to fluidly access additional expertise and execution capability on a global scale will complement our internal talent and may enable us to move multiple programs forward in a parallel manner.”

“PPD will act as a strategic collaborator and deliver capabilities, resources, and expertise that will enable us to advance our business on a global scale while capturing efficiencies and flexibility from a business and operational point of view,” added Elan’s Executive Vice President and Head of Alliance Management, Doug Love.

“PPD and Elan have established an innovative relationship structure that enables Elan to continue to invest in and advance its world-leading work in biology and its broad application in neuroscience while leveraging PPD’s expertise and execution capabilities across key program areas on a global scale. This relationship brings together the strongest resources of both companies, and we are pleased to have created this unique and strategic business arrangement with Elan,” commented David Grange, Chief Executive Officer of PPD. Elan Corporation, plc is a neuroscience-based biotechnology company committed to making a difference in the lives of patients and their families by dedicating itself to bringing innovations in science to fill significant unmet medical needs that continue to exist around the world. PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing drug discovery, development, and life-cycle management services.