ImClone sees a $56M net loss in 1st-qtr 2008

US drugmaker ImClone Systems' first-quarter 2008 adjusted net income totaled $29.0 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, versus $28.8 million, or $0.33 per share, in the comparable period last year. The figures exclude the impact of a non-operating write-down of investments of $84.9 million, after tax, which was principally related to investments in auction rate securities. On a US GAAP basis, the company saw a net loss of $55.9 million, or $0.65 loss per diluted share, vs $28.8 million, or $0.33 per share.

Global net sales of ImClone's top earner, the cancer drug Erbitux (cetuximab) jumped 12% on fourth-quarter 2007 to $417.3 million, and rose 36% year-on-year. North American net sales of the agent totaled $187.5 million, compared to $185.0 million for the previous quarter and $160.1 million for the like-period last year. The North American net turnover for the first quarter of 2008 was negatively affected by wholesaler inventory reductions of $2.1 million during the reporting period and inventory build up of $5.0 million in the previous quarter.