BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)

MEDICAL

Cigna slides on Medicare probe

The HMO lost 4.18, or 4%, to 89.70 after disclosing in an SEC filing that the Justice Dept. and Medicare's inspector general are looking into cost-reporting practices at its Lovelace Health System unit from 1990-'99. Cigna doesn't expect any material impact.

Bristol mum on ImClone threat

Bristol-Myers Squibb wouldn't say if it's dropped its threat to abandon a $2 bil deal with ImClone if its demands aren't met. ImClone and Bristol, which owns 20% of the biotech, plan to co-market the colon cancer drug Erbitux. Their alliance grew testy after the FDA rejected Erbitux Dec. 28. On Wednesday, ImClone said the FDA may let it use European trial data, which could speed up Erbitux's approval.

Chiron's blood test gets go-ahead

The test is used for early detection in donated blood of the viruses that cause AIDS and hepatitis C. The Procleix test has been used, at cost, to screen 70% of the U.S.' blood supply since '99. The FDA OK means Chiron can now charge the full price of $10-$15 per donation. ...