NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 22, 2005--ImClone Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: IMCL) today issued the following statement regarding the approval by Swissmedic, the Swiss agency for therapeutic products, of ERBITUX(R) (Cetuximab), an IgG1 monoclonal antibody, in combination with radiation in the treatment of patients with previously untreated, advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck:
"This approval gives doctors in Switzerland a first-of-its-kind treatment option in a tumor type that has seen no new modalities of treatment in thirty years. Swissmedic's decision is further validation of ERBITUX's role in neutralizing the EGF receptor, an important mediator of a tumor's survival and a receptor overexpressed in virtually all head and neck cancers. ImClone Systems and Merck KGaA will continue to study ERBITUX in head and neck cancer, including in combination with chemoradiation, and are optimistic about ERBITUX's future promise."
