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ImClone chairman resigns Also resigning, board member William Crouse. Carl Icahn has been calling for their ouster in addition to four others. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Two high-ranking board members have quit their jobs at ImClone Systems Incorp., the biotech said on Tuesday. David M. Kies resigned as chairman and ended his membership on the ImClone board of directors, according to the New York-based company, and William W. Crouse resigned as director.
ImClone (up $1.41 to $31.31, Charts) shares rose more than 4 percent on the news. The company did not say why the board members resigned. But the billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who holds a 14-percent stake in the company, has been calling for the heads of six board members, including Kies, and the company's interim chief executive officer Joseph L. Fischer. Fischer, who has not resigned, on Tuesday lauded the "valuable contributions" of the former board directors and wished them "the best of luck in their future endeavors." ImClone, making of the cancer drug Erbitux, has put itself on the auction block but had problems finding a buyer. Icahn recently rejected a $36-a-share buyout bid. The identity of the bidder has not been revealed. The biotech industry is led by two California-based giants: Amgen (down $0.15 to $73.77, Charts) and the No. 2, Genentech (down $0.46 to $85.82, Charts), which announces third-quarter earnings today. |
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