Posted on: Sunday, June 1, 2003

ImClone may rebound with new report

By Theresa Agovino
Associated Press

NEW YORK — Clinical trial results for an experimental cancer drug, set to be released today, are expected to mark a new beginning for ImClone Systems Inc. after 18 months spent mired in scandal.

Doctors have long heralded Erbitux despite ImClone's problems, and analysts have said it has blockbuster potential. Published reports Friday said physicians who have seen the clinical data, to be presented at a medical conference in Chicago, say it confirms Erbitux's effectiveness in treating colon cancer.

Merck KGaA, ImClone's German partner, has already said it plans to use the trial results to file for approval to sell Erbitux in Europe. It is unclear if the data will lead to a second try at U.S. approval.

Still, ImClone stock has been steadily rising. On Friday, ImClone stock rose more than 21 percent or $5.04 a share to close at $28.50 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

However, ImClone stock is far below the $70 a share range it was trading at in December 2001 before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected ImClone's application for Erbitux, saying the trial was sloppily conducted. The rejection led to an insider trading scandal in which ImClone founder Sam Waksal pleaded guilty to fraud and other charges. Waksal will be sentenced in June; the investigation continues and has ensnared Martha Stewart.