Elan said mulling separate listing for EDT unit

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish drugmaker Elan (ELN.I) is likely to separately list its development and manufacturing division Elan Drug Technology (EDT), worth up to $1.5 billion (757 million pounds), if it goes ahead with the spin-off, the Sunday Times said.

The newspaper had reported in February that Elan was considering splitting its bio-pharmaceuticals arm, which markets its flagship multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, from EDT.

EDT is likely to seek a listing in America and in London or Dublin, with the flotation coinciding with Elan's biopharma business breaking even for the first time, funded by rising sales of Tysabri, the paper said without naming its sources.

Elan has received some inquiries from potential trade and private equity buyers about EDT, but no firm offers yet, the Sunday Times said.

The paper quoted Chief Financial Officer Shane Cooke as saying that a trade sale was possible, though there wasn't a long list of potential buyers.

"It may make sense for that business itself to be separate, to have a separate management focus and to have separate access to capital," Cooke said.

A spokeswoman told Reuters that Elan had no comment on speculation.

"We do evaluate our portfolio regularly for what is best for shareholders, employees and patients," she added.

The Sunday Times said Elan was waiting for publication of data on its Alzheimer's Disease research in July before making a final decision on the spin-off.

(Reporting by Andras Gergely; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)