Schering-Plough

Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) is a pharmaceutical company founded in 1851 by Ernst Schering Schering AG in Germany. Following the entry of the United States into World War II in 1941, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered Schering AG's U.S. assets be seized. These became Schering Corporation. The company was placed under a government administratorship until 1952, when it was released and its assets sold to the private sector. In 1971, the Schering Corporation merged with Plough to form Schering Plough.

Today Schering Plough manufactures several pharmaceutical drugs, the most well-known of which are the allergy drugs Claritin and Clarinex, and through a collaboration with Merck & Co., Vytorin, an anti-cholesterol drug.

Schering Plough also owns and operates the major foot care brand name Dr. Scholl's and the skin care line Coppertone.

As of June 2005, Schering Plough has 1.4% market share in the U.S., placing it at #17 in the top 20 pharmaceutical corporations by sales compiled by IMS Health.

One of their plants, in Upper Hutt, New Zealand is the largest single site for the production of veterinary vaccines in the world.^{[citation needed]} This is largely due to the fact that New Zealand's isolation has formed a natural quarantine and is free of rabies, foot and mouth, scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy and many other livestock diseases. It formerly had echinococcosis, but this has been eradicated. The site is known locally as "Coopers Animal Health," a trademark still in use by Schering Plough in Australia, but not elsewhere.

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History

Plough, Inc was founded by Memphis area entrepreneur Abe Plough in 1908 [1]. He borrowed $125 from his father to start the business at age 16. As a one man business, he mixed "Plough's Antiseptic Healing Oil," a "sure cure for any ill of man or beast," and sold it off a horse drawn buggy [2]. He grew the company through sound management and innovative strategies, with marketing genius. Acquisitions included St Joseph's Aspirin for children [3], Maybelline, and Coppertone (Coppertone_girl). At the time of the merger, Abe Plough, still active in the business, became Chairman of the combined company [4].

In 2000, Schering Plough bought a new campus in Summit, New Jersey from Novartis. The company plans to make this location its second largest corporate complex in the world after its current $20 million renovation.

Schering-Plough was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004 and 2005 by Working Mothers magazine.

In March 2007, Schering-Plough Corp. purchased Organon "the drug unit of Netherlands-based Akzo Nobel" for $14.4 billion, giving the US pharmaceutical company an array of women's health products and numerous late-stage pipelines of experimental medicines. Moreover, Schering-Plough will bolster its animal health business with Akzo subsidiary Intervet and gain access to human vaccine production through subsidiary Nobilon.

Organon is founded in 1923 by Dr. Saal van Zwanenberg, the president of Zwanenberg’s Slachterijen en Fabrieken. The company is housed at Zwanenberg’s premises in Oss, the Netherlands.

Products (Medical)

Prescription products

• Cerazette®
• Esmeron®/Zemuron®
• Intron A & PEG-Intron Interferon Alfa-2b - Hep C
• Levitra (vardenafil) - Erectile-dysfunction drug; co-marketed with Bayer
• Livial®
• Marvelon®/Desogen®
• Mercilon®
• NuvaRing®
• Puregon®/Follistim®
• Remeron®/Remeron SolTab®
• Remicade (infliximab)
• Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin) - Cholesterol-lowering combination drug
• Zetia (ezetimibe) - Cholesterol-lowering drug

Over-the-counter products

• Afrin - A nasal spray decongestant
• Claritin (loratadine) - An antihistamine which has less risk of causing drowsiness
• Coricidin - A palliative remedy for the common cold, targeted towards individuals with high blood pressure

Products (Veterinary)

• Home Again Pet Recovery System - HomeAgain is an advanced pet identification and retrieval system.
• Zubrin - A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for the treatment of osteoarthritis in dogs.
• Mometamax - Is indicated for the treatment of canine acute externa and chronic otitis externa associated with yeast (Malassezia pachydermatis, formerly Pityrosporum canis)and/or bacteria susceptible to gentamicin. It contains the strongest steroid (Mometasone Furoate) in Veterinary Medicine.
• Eclipse Vaccines - Attenuated modified live feline vaccines available in a multitude of antigen combinations.
• Galaxy Vaccines - Canine vaccines available in a multitude of antigen combinations.
• Optimmune - Ophthalmic ointment (cyclosporin) for the treatment of Pannis and Keratoconjunctivis sicca in dogs.
• Orbax - Trade name for orbifloxacin, a fluoroquinolone.
• Otomax - Is indicated for the treatment of canine acute externa and chronic otitis externa associated with yeast (Malassezia pachydermatis, formerly Pityrosporum canis)and/or bacteria susceptible to gentamicin. It contains betamethasone valerate as an anti-inflammatory.
• Banamine - A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used in horses, cattle and swine in different parts of the world.
• Estrumate - A synthetic prostaglandin used in reproduction of cattle.
• Trivetrin - Trimethoprin sulfate for the treatment of cattle and swine.
• Nuflor

Controversy

In 2004, Schering-Plough was accused of violating public trust. [5]

Schering-Plough entered into a Consent Decree with the FDA on March 6th 2002 due to manufacturing issues with its albuterol inhaler. It was ordered to pay $500 Million USD as follows; Schering-Plough Corporation agrees to pay one hundred seventy-five million dollars ($175,000,000.00) to the United States Treasury no later than ten (10) days after the date of entry of this Decree. Schering-Plough Products, LLC agrees to pay seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000.00) to the United States Treasury no later than ten (10) days after the date of entry of this Decree. With respect to the remaining two hundred and fifty million dollars ($250,000,000.00), one hundred seventy-five million dollars ($175,000,000.00) shall be paid by Schering-Plough Corporation and seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000.00) shall be paid by Schering-Plough Products, LLC, to the United States Treasury no later than three hundred sixty-five (365) days after the date of entry of this Decree.

It was also ordered to complete a rigorous series of inspections by a 3rd party inspector, in this case LCS, by 2006.

References

1. "Doctors Write Prescriptions, Drug Companies Write a Check," Gardiner Harris, NY Times

• Yahoo! - Schering-Plough Corporation Company Profile
• IMS Health - Leading 20 Corporations by U.S. Sales, MAT June 2005