Just days after Jack Schuler from CrabTree Partners slammed Elan CEO Kelly Martin regarding his poor performance and dismal Tysabri sales, Martin came bck swinging. Martin told the WSJ that:

“$1 billion in sales isn’t bad. We think the progress being made, despite all the challenges, is good progress.” He went on to defend docs’ use of Tysabri:

“Elan and Biogen are trying to do more to dispel worries boost the drug. They’re stepping up talks with neurologists about how to spot signs of PML. They’re also studying patients who’ve contracted PML to figure out why they developed it and, perhaps, how to better identify those at risk. Because there have been so few cases of the brain infection, however, it could be hard to draw any firm conclusions about why Tysabri patients contract it”

Regarding the use of private jets, Martin said:

“the company is trying to reduce its use of NetJets and use more video-conferencing.”

Martin disagreed with naysayers like Schuler who claim that Elan talked up an experimental Alzheimer’s drug too much, causing the company’s stock to crash this summer when the drug delivered mixed results in a human study.

“I think the expectations did rise. I don’t know why they rose to that degree,” referring to the inflated stock price and subsequent 70% plummet in value.

Here’s the full article from the WSJ

Image from pharmaceutical-technology

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