In an effort to thwart a sweetened US$6.4 B takeover bid from Royalty Pharma, cash-rich Elan has entered into a series of transactions aimed at portfolio diversification and risk reduction. It has agreed to buy AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals for €263.5 M (US$338 M) upfront, acquire a 48% stake in Dubai-based Newbridge Pharmaceuticals for US$40 M and divest its Alzheimer’s disease drug candidate ELND-005 to new company Speranza Therapeutics, in which it will have an 18% stake. A week earlier, Elan agreed to pay Theravance US$1 B to gain a 21% royalty participation interest in four respiratory programmes, a deal regarded by many industry observers as expensive.