DUBLIN, IRELAND, August 30, 2000 -- Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) ('Elan')
today announced that marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration ('FDA') for a tablet form of American Home Products
Corporation's ('AHP') drug Rapamune® represents the first approval for a drug
presentation containing Elan's proprietary NanoCrystal technology. Rapamune is
indicated for the prevention of organ rejection in kidney transplant patients and
the new tablet provides easier administration and storage than the currently
marketed Rapamune oral solution. This tablet presentation was made possible
through the application of Elan's NanoCrystal technology for poorly water-soluble
drug compounds. This technology is a proprietary system of Elan Pharmaceutical
Technologies (EPT), Elan's drug delivery division. Elan will receive revenues from
AHP on sales of NanoCrystal formulations of Rapamune.

'This first approval for a formulation containing our NanoCrystal technology is a
major achievement for EPT and represents the validation of several years' of
diligent scientific effort', said Dr Larry Sternson, President of EPT. 'Over 40% of
potential drug products suffer from poor water solubility. This frequently results
in potentially important products not reaching the market or achieving their full
potential. Today, Elan has several collaborations with major pharmaceutical
corporations to develop other products and new formulations using the
NanoCrystal technology. We believe that the application of our NanoCrystal
technology will ensure the successful development of a large number of these
potential pharmaceutical products.'

Elan is a leading worldwide specialty pharmaceutical and drug delivery company
headquartered in Ireland, with its principal research, development,
manufacturing and marketing facilities located in Ireland, the United States and
Israel. Elan shares trade on the New York, London and Dublin Stock Exchanges.
The statements in this press release may include forward- looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties including the difficulty of the success of
pharmaceutical research and development projects and predicting regulatory
approvals as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in
periodic reports, including Elan's Annual Report on Form 20-F as filed with the
SEC.