CEO Fred Hassan

Schering-Plough Corp. said its experimental hepatitis C drug boceprevir helped eliminate the virus in about half of patients who did not respond to standard treatments. Boceprevir is considered one of the most important products being developed by the Kenilworth, N.J., drugmaker, which is being acquired by Merck & Co. for $41.1 billion. Initial results from the late-stage study, called Sprint-1, were reported earlier this year, but on Sunday, Schering-Plough reported the results of patients who had no response to other drugs, a hard-to-treat group called "null responders." A total of 50 patients were found to be "null responders" after four weeks of standard treatment. ... Read Full Story

Drugmakers on Thursday mostly posted improved third-quarter profits by keeping costs down, as generic competition, the global recession and unfavorable currency exchange rates generally hurt sales. Merck & Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. posted strong profit increases on higher sales of a few key drugs. Switzerland's Novartis AG had a tiny increase in profit on what one analyst called "wonderful results" in its pharmaceuticals division. But Schering-Plough Corp., about to become part of Merck, saw a sharp drop in profit and a dip in revenue because more than half of its sales are in foreign countries — so the weak dollar reduces their value. ... Read Full Story

Merck & Co., a Dow component and the world's eighth-biggest drug maker by revenue, reports earnings for the third quarter on Thursday morning. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period. OVERVIEW: Merck, which sells cholesterol drugs, asthma and allergy treatment Singulair and Gardasil, a vaccine against human papilloma virus, is aiming to close its $41.1 billion acquisition of New Jersey neighbor Schering-Plough Corp. in the fourth quarter. Shareholders of both companies overwhelmingly approved the deal on Aug. 7, but the companies still need approval from U.S. and European regulators. The tie-up will vault the combined company ... Read Full Story

US pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. finalized its acquisition of rival Schering-Plough on Tuesday, a 41-billion-dollar deal creating the number two firm in the sector. The completion follows clearance from regulatory authorities in various countries, allowing the two companies to begin combined operations on Wednesday. The combined firm will have annual revenues of 47 billion dollars, behind US rival Pfizer, which following its acquisition of Wyeth has annual sales of around 75 billion dollars. The deal announced in March is the latest tie-up of big drugmakers facing increased cost pressures as key patents expire. Merck expects to achieve cost savings of approximately 3.5 billion ... Read Full Story

The European Union on Friday approved the proposed tie-up of U.S. drug makers Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. which would create the second-biggest global producer of prescription medicines. The EU's antitrust authorities said in a statement Friday that the "transaction would not significantly impede effective competition" in Europe. The $41.1 billion acquisition of smaller Schering-Plough will allow Merck to leapfrog to No. 2 worldwide in prescription medicine, just behind Pfizer Inc., which last week bought Wyeth for $68 billion. The new Merck-Schering company would have about $42.4 billion in annual sales. The two companies hope to fully close the deal in the fourth ... Read Full Story