Analysts raise doubts on Erbitux ruling

The reverberations over yesterday's decision to award ownership of the key Erbitux patent to two Israeli scientists continues to shake ImClone. The company has reportedly developed a three-prong strategy to fight back against the decision, with options to appeal as well as seek a license for the drug from Yeda Research & Development, the Weizmann Institute's deal-making arm. Analysts, meanwhile, denounced the ruling, saying it cast a new light on the work that academic groups are doing for biotech companies. ImClone downplayed any worst-case scenario, noting that any new royalties that might have to be paid out would be small. But analysts highlighted their concerns over the company's ability to withstand a hit like this on its only product, and Bristol-Myers was assessing the impact on its 20 percent stake in the company.

- read the report on Erbitux from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)

PLUS: Amgen, meanwhile, lost little time in acquiring the Erbitux patent from Yeda. Report