Stewart Publicly Proclaims Innocence

Home decorating celebrity Martha Stewart took her case to the court of public opinion Thursday, professing her innocence in a newspaper advertisement and a new Web site, a day after an indictment accused her of committing securities fraud and lying to authorities.

At the same time, ImClone Systems Inc. said Thursday that it would resubmit its U.S. marketing application for its cancer drug Erbitux. That news sent ImClone’s shares soaring 27% in electronic trading after the market closed.

ImClone and Erbitux are at the heart of Stewart’s legal troubles. On Wednesday, the government indicted Stewart and her former stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, on allegations of obstructing a probe into Stewart’s sale of nearly 4,000 shares of ImClone at $58 shortly before the FDA rejected ImClone’s Erbitux application and the stock plunged.

ImClone’s decision to resubmit its application follows the release on Sunday of trial results from ImClone’s European marketing partner, Merck, that showed Erbitux, in combination with chemotherapy, shrank tumors in 23% of colon cancer patients who had exhausted all other options.

ImClone’s stock rose to $48.80 in aftermarket trading from a closing price on Nasdaq of $38.53. The stock has nearly tripled in the last two weeks, first in anticipation of positive data, and then on confirmation of it.

As for Stewart, her decision to make a public plea of innocence was an effort to reassure investors in her media and design company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., and its customers and clients, legal analysts said. The campaign also could soften potential jurors in her case, they added.

With flourishes once reserved for cake decoration, Stewart’s signature graced an open letter to “friends and loyal supporters� published as a full-page ad in USA Today and on a new Web site (www.marthatalks.com).

“I want you to know that I am innocent -- and that I will fight to clear my name,� Stewart wrote, throwing out an open challenge to U.S. prosecutors.

The site carried a smiling photo of Stewart, a former model and stockbroker who built her high-profile business out of a catering company, alongside a letter in lime-green type). There was a link to send e-mail.

Stewart, one of America’s most prominent businesswomen, is known to millions of U.S. consumers through her magazines, television shows and stylish home products sold through discount stores.

Shares of Martha Stewart Living rose 13 cents to $10.13 on the New York Stock Exchange.