From CBS Marketwatch:
Shares of ImClone Systems jumped 15 percent in early dealings Friday after a published report said soon-to-be-released clinical results show that the Erbitux anti-cancer drug is effective. ImClone shares surged $3.46 to $26.92. The Wall Street Journal reported that a clinical trial in colon-cancer patients confirmed earlier studies that showed ImClone’s Erbitux is a promising cancer therapy. ImClone’s European pharmaceutical partner, Merck KGaA, is scheduled to present details of the testing Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. German-based Merck has already said that it believes the data support European regulatory approval for Erbitux….
…ImClone and its experimental anti-cancer drug have been at the center of controversy since late 2001. At the end of that year, the Food and Drug Administration refused to accept the application to market Erbitux because of deficiencies in data submitted by ImClone. The FDA rejection triggered a collapse in ImClone’s stock and led to a major Wall Street scandal. Sam Waksal, ImClone’s founder, has been accused of tipping off relatives about the FDA setback so that they could unload ImClone stock before the news became public.
For the full story behind the government’s assault on ImClone see The SEC’s “Insider Trading” Witch Hunt Against ImClone’s Sam Waksal: Scapegoat for the Sins of the FDA.