ImClone mulls business options

ImClone Systems has hired the investment bank Lazard to explore strategic alternatives for its business, which could include a merger, sale, or strategic alliance. ImClone has little in its late-stage pipeline outside of new indications for its lead product, the cancer drug Erbitux. Yet Erbitux will soon face competition from Amgen's panitumumab, which is expected to hit the market this year. The announcement "suggests a lack of interest on the part of obvious partners," such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, ImClone's development partner for Erbitux, SG Cowen stock analyst Eric Schmidt said in a note to investors.