Lilly to Acquire ImClone Systems in $6.5 Billion T...( Creates a Global Leader in...)

Creates a Global Leader in Oncology Biopharmaceuticals Boosts Oncology Pipeline With Up to Three Promising Targeted Therapies in

Phase III in 2009

INDIANAPOLIS and NEW YORK, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and ImClone Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: IMCL) today announced that the boards of directors of both companies have approved a definitive merger agreement under which Lilly will acquire ImClone through an all cash tender offer of $70.00 per share, or approximately $6.5 billion. The offer represents a premium of 51 percent to ImClone's closing stock price on July 30, 2008, the day before an acquisition offer for ImClone was made public. ImClone's board recommends that ImClone's shareholders tender their shares in the tender offer. Additionally, certain entities associated with ImClone's chairman, Carl C. Icahn, holding approximately 14 percent of ImClone's outstanding common stock, have agreed to tender their shares in the tender offer.

This strategic combination will create one of the leading oncology franchises in the biopharmaceutical industry, offering both targeted therapies and oncolytic agents along with a pipeline spanning all phases of clinical development. The combined oncology portfolio will target a broader array of solid tumor types including lung, breast, ovarian, colorectal, head and neck, and pancreatic, positioning Lilly to pursue treatments of multiple cancers. Combining with ImClone will further strengthen Lilly's growin
'/>"/>