ImClone will rely on partnerships to add new drug development candidates and to commercialize its own pipeline products as it looks to overcome issues of scale and remain independent, interim CEO Joseph Fischer stated during an Aug. 10 analyst call.

"While we still recognize that the issue of overall scale will present a challenge at least in the short term, we intend to utilize partnerships to complement our development in oncology, and we'll be taking a careful look at how best to monetize a number of non-oncology commercial opportunities available to our family of antibodies," Fischer said.

"We fully intend to make the required investments to expand Erbitux and the pipeline, and we will look for opportunities for partnering some of our development projects," he added.

During the call, ImClone announced that its board of directors had completed a review of strategic alternatives and determined that the company should remain independent.

ImClone announced Jan. 24 that it had engaged investment bank Lazard to conduct a review of its strategic options, including a merger or potential sale of the company. At the time, the company had indicated that necessary pipeline investments could negatively impact earnings in an unacceptable manner.

"The board of directors has decided that the strategic alternatives available to the company at this time do not match the shareholder value we expect to achieve by remaining independent," Fisher reported. The company did receive acquisition offers; however, the bids were rejected, he added.

As part of its focus on remaining independent, ImClone announced it is seeking a permanent CEO to succeed Fischer who was appointed to the interim post in January. The exec said he would continue running the company during the search process.

During the last two quarters, since the review was announced, ImClone has experienced a significant improvement in its business, he maintained, particularly with the oncologic Erbitux (cetuximab). The colorectal cancer treatment gained a new indication for the treatment of head and neck cancer in March, leading to a 14% jump in first quarter sales over Q4, he noted.

FDA cleared the sBLA for cetuximab March 1 (¹ Also see "Erbitux Pricing Could Be Modified With Longer Treatment Cycles" - Pink Sheet, 2 March, 2006.). ImClone co-develops cetuximab with Bristol-Myers Squibb in the U.S. and Canada.

ImClone also has renegotiated a deal with Merck KGaA that will result in additional payments and increased Erbitux royalties to ImClone. Merck has exclusive rights to Erbitux outside the U.S. and Canada, and co-develops the product in Japan (² Also see "ImClone Receives Payment From Merck KGaA For Changes To Erbitux Agreement" - Pink Sheet, 20 July, 2006.).

"Through focused investment and careful expense management, we were also able to better direct our resources toward those areas that would produce the greatest short and long-term return, with the goal of improving our top and bottom line while continuing to invest in our pipeline," Fischer said.

The company expects to have new data available on Erbitux in the treatment of first-, second- and third-line colorectal cancer, first-line pancreatic cancer and first-line lung cancer by the end of the year. ImClone has five pipeline candidates in clinical development, three of which will be in Phase II or Phase III in 2007.

-Jessica Merrill

ImClone Will Remain Independent, But Seeks To Partner Oncology Candidates

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