Elan's race to $1 billion

Having announced its third major acquisition in two years last week, Elan Corp. plc appears most interested in looking outward as it moves toward its revenue goal of $1 billion in 2001. ELN has acquired products, sales force and technology in its campaign to shift away from royalty-driven revenues associated with its original drug delivery business.

When it acquired Athena Neurosciences Inc. (South San Francisco, Calif.) in March 1996, ELN (Dublin, Ireland) gained a pipeline of neurological compounds and a sales force, allowing the company to begin capturing revenues from its own products. ELN's latest move was the acquisition last week of Carnrick Laboratories Inc., which enlarged the company's U.S. sales force to 280 people...