More Videos
SPECIAL REPORT
MOST SHARED
- 8 Retailers that Gain During the Holidays
- Dubai Fallout Is a Correction, Not Another Crisis: El-Erian
- Finding the Holiday's Best Buys
- Banks Play Down Dubai Exposure, Investors Still Wary
- Dubai Spooks Investors But May Bring Buying Opportunity
- San Miguel Sells $1.36 Billion Stake to Ally
- Is Super Bowl Halftime Act Too Old?
- Yen Hits 14-Year High on Dubai Woes; Dollar Gains
- Shoppers Hit Black Friday Sales; Budgets Pared
- Charts: Dollar Could Fall to 80 Yen
- Obama's Emission Reduction Pledge Paints Future for Autos
- Is Super Bowl Halftime Act Too Old?
- Surprising Options Trades in TiVo Shares
- EA Sports Hopes to Pump Up Sales Through Pop-Up Locations
- 8 Retailers that Gain During the Holidays
- Farrell: What's Different On This Black Friday
- 10 Dividend Picks For Your Portfolio: Chief Investors
- 4 Thanksgiving Week Buys For Your Portfolio: Market Pros
- There's a 'Great Chance' For a Double-Dip Recession: Strategist
- Dubai Fallout Is a Correction, Not Another Crisis: El-Erian
- Dubai's Debt Woes Signal New Era for Creditors
- Banks With The Biggest Exposure to The UAE
- Some of Dubai World's Major Holdings Around Globe
- The World's Biggest Debtor Nations
- Commodities Hammered as Investors Flee to US Dollars
- Five Tips for Buying a Foreclosed Home
- Get Paid Six Figures to Wear a T-Shirt?
- Shoppers Hit Black Friday Sales; Budgets Pared
PHARMA'S MARKET VIDEO
RSS FEED
Pharma's Market
Text Size 
Despite my repeated invitations for his first post-jailhouse interview on this blog and through one of his contacts, Sam Waksal didn't respond. Given his Manhattan social scene background it should not, perhaps, come as a surprise that the founder of ImClone Systems decided to have his coming-out party in "New York" magazine. Quick backstory: Waksal and his friend Martha Stewart went to prison for their roles in an ImClone insider trading/lying-to-the-feds scandal.
The article calls Waksal "a young-looking 61," but I think this photo of him looking pensive on what I presume is a Central Park bench shows how much he's aged since I last saw him the morning that he walked into prison.
 |
Michal Chelbin for New York Magazine Sam Waksal |
There are a few good nuggets in the piece, though. Apparently he still had ImClone stock options when Eli Lilly [LLY
Loading...
()
] recently bought the company for $6.5 billion. The article says Waksal "likely made a fortune off the Eli Lilly deal (he won't say how much, though he will say 'the world doesn't have to worry about me.' )" I don't know anyone who ever expressed worry about him or his financial health. The premium price paid by LLY, though, gave Waksal a sense of vindication about the successful cancer drug Erbitux that got him into so much trouble.
And Waksal wants to get back in business. He can't be an officer again at a publicly-held company, but he's reportedly looking for investors for some kind of biotech start-up. "There's no scientist out there that has been wary of me," Waksal tells the magazine. "And guys in the venture-capital world I dealt with before—it's as if I wasn't gone a day!"
You might also see him soon at a Barnes & Noble [BKS
Loading...
()
] booksigning. He says he wrote a prison memoir. In the current publishing world environment I wonder if anyone will buy it.
The story is filled with braggadocio about his intellect and how well-read he is. It borders on arrogance. Referring to one of his old ImClone science buddies, Waksal is quoted as saying, "Neither one of us likes to hang out with dumb people." Who would say that? And if he's so smart, how or why did he do something so stupid? He never really answers that question.
His attitude isn't limited to his knowledge. Regarding his monogrammed French-cuff shirts Waksal made sure to tell the reporter, "None of this is brand. It's made."
I'm thinking the high-profile NY mag spread is gonna get Waksal more invitations on the Manhattan dinner party circuit. But don't have him break bread with Martha Stewart [MSO
Loading...
()
]. She refused to give NY mag reporter Robert Kolker an interview for the article, but sent a proper (or is it a little chilly?) quote wishing her old friend "new successes." And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think ex-cons, especially ones tied to the same scandal, are allowed to hang out after they get out.
And he won't be sitting down with me either anytime soon.
A spokesperson told me in an email this morning, "We have said everything that needs to be said on the subjects covered in the article. Maybe at another time in the future." If he were ever to meet with me, since he doesn't like hanging out with "dumb people," according to the article, I may have to brush up on Etruscan pottery and re-read Descartes (my first and only time was in Philosophy 101 many years ago), although Waksal claims he read a French translation of "Principles of Philosophy" while behind bars.
Sacre bleu!
Read More On CNBC.com:
- Madoff Investors Getting Some Relief From IRS
- Rogues Gallery
- Goldman Offers Loans to Stretched Employees
- Market Tips: Get Your Cash into This Rally
Questions? Comments? and follow me on Twitter at mhuckman
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes