Eli Lilly is considering a takeover bid for ImClone of roughly $70 a share, which would value the cancer drug maker at $6.1bn and could trump Bristol-Myers’ $62 per-share unsolicited offer, a source close to the matter said.

ImClone said last month, in response to an initial offer from Bristol-Myers of $60 per share, that it was in takeover talks with another large pharmaceutical company that was willing to pay more.