Shares in Elan Corp., Ireland's largest pharmaceutical company, crashed Tuesday after issuing its long-awaited 2001 annual report, using U.S. accounting methods.<br>
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Elan's stock has spriraled down more than 90 percent from 52-week highs and traded as low as 1.65 Tuesday. Elan has been affected by global controversy over corporate accounting that has surrounded the likes of Enron, WorldCom and Xerox. <br>
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In a statement accompanying the firm's 2001 annual report for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, company officials stated Elan faced "the most challenging time it its corporate history". <br>
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The report showed that Elan will write down roughly one fourth of its $2.1 billion in investment assets in the second quarter. <br>
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