By Toni Clarke
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Carl Icahn, the new chairman of ImClone Systems Inc. (IMCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), can expect to receive a warm welcome from the new interim chief executive of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) when the two meet to hash out a strategy for maximizing the value of their cancer drug Erbitux.
James Cornelius, who reluctantly took over the reins at Bristol-Myers after Peter Dolan was ousted in September, said on Wednesday he expects to meet the billionaire investor "soon."
"I've not met Carl but I'm looking forward to it," Cornelius said at the Reuters Health Summit in New York. "When I meet him I'm going to say that our interests are exactly the same -- to deliver shareholder value by maximizing the potential of Erbitux."
Cornelius said Bristol-Myers is committed to Erbitux and believes it will generate annual sales of at least $1 billion in colon cancer -- more if it wins approval as a treatment for lung cancer.
Icahn, who won control of ImClone last month after an intense battle in which he accused the company of failing to properly develop Erbitux, has said one of his first priorities is to strengthen ImClone's relationship with Bristol-Myers.
Bristol-Myers holds a roughly 20 percent stake in ImClone, which achieved notoriety in 2003 when its founder, Samuel Waksal, was sentenced to jail for securities fraud in a scandal that later drew in Martha Stewart.
Cornelius said that at some point Bristol-Myers will sell its stake in ImClone, whose shares he expects to rise if the fortunes of Erbitux improve. ImClone's shares have fallen roughly 65 percent since mid-2004.
"We will eventually turn that equity into cash," he said. Continued...
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