ImClone Jumps, and the Biotech Sector Surges

Updated from 11:41 a.m. EDT

ImClone Systems (IMCLE Quote) got a boost Tuesday morning when the company received a $6 million payment from Germany's Merck KGaA for achieving a manufacturing milestone under the firms' license agreement for the prospective cancer treatment Erbitux.

After receiving the payment, ImClone issued 334,471 common shares to Merck at a 10% premium. In December 1998, Merck KGaA licensed the right to develop Erbitux outside the U.S. and Canada and the co-exclusive right to develop the drug in Japan.

Last month, Merck received approval from the German state regulatory authority in Darmstadt to import Erbitux made at ImClone's facilities in Somerville, N.J. ...