6-K

                                    FORM 6-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                        Report of Foreign Private Issuer
                        Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
                    under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                          For the month of March, 2003

                        Commission File Number 001-13896



                              Elan Corporation, plc
                 (Translation of registrant's name into English)


                 Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, Ireland
                    (Address of principal executive offices)



     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:

                Form 20-F   /X/                    Form 40-F  / /


         Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in
paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):

                      Yes  / /                           No  /X/

         Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in
paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to
security holders.


         Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in
paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):

                      Yes  / /                           No  /X/



                                       -2-

     Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of
a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other document that the
registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of
the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally
organized (the registrant's "home country"), or under the rules of the home
country exchange on which the registrant's securities are traded, as long as the
report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has
not been distributed to the registrant's security holders, and, if discussing a
material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other
Commission filing on EDGAR.

     Indicate by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in
this Form, the registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

                     Yes   / /                          No  /X/

     If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-
                                                 -------------------










                                       EXHIBIT LIST


       Exhibit          Description
       -------          -----------

         99.1           Press Release dated March 24, 2003












                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.



                                    ELAN CORPORATION, plc



                                    By:   /s/ William F. Daniel
                                          -----------------------------------
                                          William F. Daniel
                                          Company Secretary

Date: March 24, 2003

EX-99.1

                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1
                                                                    ------------


elan                                                    INGENIUM
                                                        Deductive Genomics



                              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                              ---------------------


MEDIA CONTACTS:
Elan -- Sunny Uberoi                        Ingenium - Gretchen L.P. Schweitzer
+1 212-994-8206                             +49-89-8565-2398

INVESTOR CONTACTS:
Elan -- Jack Howarth (U.S.)                 Ingenium - Gretchen L.P. Schweitzer
+1 212-407-5740                             +49-89-8565-2398
Elan - Emer Reynolds (Europe)               gretchen.schweitzer@ingenium-ag.com
+353-1-709-4000




              ELAN AND INGENIUM ANNOUNCE MAJOR ALLIANCE TO DEVELOP
                        THERAPEUTICS FOR PAIN MANAGEMENT

DUBLIN, IRELAND, and MUNICH, GERMANY, March 24, 2003 -- Elan Corporation, plc
(NYSE: ELN) ("Elan") and Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG ("Ingenium") announced
today a strategic alliance for the development of novel therapeutics for pain
management. Ingenium brings to the collaboration a broad set of functional
genomics technologies, including its novel Deductive Genomics(TM) approach that
allows for the rapid identification and cloning of novel molecular targets
implicated in molecular mechanisms underlying the control of pain. Elan will
screen against the newly discovered and biologically validated drug targets in
order to identify and develop novel therapeutics for the treatment of pain. The
alliance will allow Elan to continue to build its pipeline in the pain area.

"Today's strategic alliance with Ingenium enhances Elan's position as a company
that has a leading position within the field of neurosciences," said President
and Chief Executive



Elan and Ingenium Announce Major Alliance to Develop Therapeutics for Pain
Management


Officer G. Kelly Martin. "As we restore Elan to financial health, we are
committed to building a world-class R&D pipeline. Today's strategic alliance
represents further investment in the science of managing pain." Martin
continued, "Through this investment and other planned investments in our core
business, we are addressing the future growth component of Elan's recovery
plan."

"Elan's leadership and innovative research make them the ideal partner for
Ingenium's Deductive Genomics(TM) approach to drug discovery," said Michael C.
Nehls, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of
Ingenium. "Ingenium sees this agreement as a validation of the Deductive
Genomics technology and its ability to produce novel therapeutic approaches with
a high probability of clinical success."

Under the terms of the agreement, Elan and Ingenium will jointly fund a
four-year research programme, estimated at $10 million total, leading to the
identification of clinical candidates. Ingenium has the potential to earn up to
$50 million per product in success-driven milestones. These milestones are
contingent on the identification of a clinical candidate, the initiation of
human clinical trials, the submission of first NDA/BLA/MAA and the approval of a
product in the US, Europe and Asia. Elan will be responsible for global
commercialization of products developed, however, Ingenium has the option to
maintain co-development and co-commercialization rights on all products
developed through the alliance.

Elan Corporation, plc is focused on the discovery, development, manufacturing,
selling and marketing of novel therapeutic products in neurology, pain
management and autoimmune diseases. Elan shares trade on the New York, London
and Dublin Stock Exchanges.

The basis of Ingenium's business is its knowledge and expertise in generating
the biological information critical to the discovery, validation and development
of therapeutics. Ingenium's Deductive Genomics(TM) technology combines
genome-covering mutagenesis in the murine model system with a proprietary,
therapeutic goal-oriented biological screen. From the breadth of knowledge
generated by Deductive Genomics(TM),



Elan and Ingenium Announce Major Alliance to Develop Therapeutics for Pain
Management

Ingenium is currently advancing a pipeline of novel models and biologically
validated drug targets in the areas of obesity, lipid metabolism,
neurodegeneration and autoimmune disease. The company's INGENOtyping(TM)
platform offers a new alternative to producing genetically-altered murine
models. Ingenium has research partnership agreements with F. Hoffmann-La Roche
Ltd., Sequenom Inc. and Lynkeus BioTech GmbH, in addition to numerous
international academic collaborations. The Company benefits from funding from
premier investors, an experienced management team, and a growing patent
portfolio.

This document contains forward-looking statements about the companies' financial
condition, results of operations and business prospects that involve substantial
risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the fact that they
use words such as "anticipate", "estimate", "project", "envisage", "intend",
"plan", "believe" and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection
with any discussion of future operating or financial performance or events.
Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those described herein are the following: the success of research and
development activities and the speed with which regulatory authorizations and
product launches may be achieved. A further list and description of these risks,
uncertainties and other matters can be found in prior press releases, Elan's
Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001, and in
its Reports of Foreign Issuer on Form 6-K. Elan and Ingenium assume no
obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. This caution is made under the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.