Standard&Poor's today said that Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s (AAA/Negative/A-1+) announcement that it is planning to take greater control over the development of the cancer treatment, Erbitux, from development partner, ImClone System Inc. (unrated), or that Bristol-Myers may terminate the development partnership, has no impact on the rating or outlook on the company. Bristol-Myers entered into a development agreement with ImClone in 2001, in which Bristol-Myers acquired a 20% equity interest in ImClone for $1 billion and committed $1 billion in research and development financing, in exchange for the co-marketing rights of ImClone's Erbitux. Erbitux represented a key near-term drug prospect for Bristol-Myers. However, inadequacies in the approval package led to an approval delay at the FDA. Standard&Poor's
