Elan Corporation, plc and Transition Therapeutics Inc announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued US patent number 7,521,481 on April 21, 2009. The patent is entitled 'Methods of Preventing, Treating and Diagnosing Disorders of Protein Aggregation', and generally claims methods for treating Alzheimer's disease comprising administering scyllo-inositol (ELND005). The patent will expire in the year 2025 or later due to any patent term extensions.

"The issuance of this patent is an important milestone in the development of ELND005, a unique oral compound with a favourable safety profile that crosses the blood-brain barrier and targets the disaggregation of amyloid beta in the brain," said Dr Tony Cruz, chairman and chief executive officer of Transition.

In 2006, Elan and Transition entered into an exclusive, worldwide collaboration agreement for the joint development and commercialization of ELND005 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other indications.

ELND005 is an orally-administered therapeutic agent that has received fast track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Elan Corporation 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.

Transition is a biopharmaceutical company, developing novel therapeutics for disease indications with large markets.