Schering-Plough
Former American multinational pharmaceutical company formed by the 1971 merger of Schering Corporation and Plough, Inc.; it became part of Merck & Co. in 2009.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Schering-Plough was an American multinational pharmaceutical company whose corporate history combined two distinct businesses: Schering Corporation, the former United States business of Germany's Schering AG, and Plough, Inc., a Memphis-based medicines and consumer-products company. Schering AG traced its origins to 1851, when Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering established the German business. Plough was founded in 1908 by Abe Plough, who began with a small patent-medicine operation and later expanded into branded medicines, personal care, cosmetics, broadcasting and consumer health products. The U.S. Schering business became independent after the seizure and nationalization of German assets during World War II. Schering Corporation was released from government administratorship in 1952, and the company subsequently developed as an independent American pharmaceutical enterprise. The Schering Corporation–Plough, Inc. merger was completed in 1971, creating Schering-Plough Corporation, with Abe Plough becoming chairman of the combined company. The resulting group operated across prescription pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter medicines, consumer health, skin care, foot care, animal health and biotechnology-related activities. Its better-known human-health products included the allergy medicines Claritin and Clarinex, the cholesterol medicines Zetia and Vytorin, the oncology drug Temodar, the hepatitis treatments Intron A and PEG-Intron, respiratory products such as Nasonex and Asmanex, and a number of reproductive-health, immunology, infectious-disease and hospital medicines. Its consumer portfolio included Coppertone and Dr. Scholl's, while its veterinary operations included Intervet and other animal-health brands. Schering-Plough expanded through acquisitions and licensing as well as internal research. In 1957 it acquired White Laboratories. In 2000 it purchased a campus in Summit, New Jersey, from Novartis. Its largest strategic transaction was the 2007 acquisition of Organon BioSciences from Akzo Nobel for approximately $14.4 billion, bringing Organon, Intervet and Diosynth into the group and strengthening women's health, animal health, active pharmaceutical ingredients and vaccine capabilities. Schering-Plough also participated in collaborative research, including the publicly funded InnoMed PredTox project in non-clinical safety assessment. The company faced regulatory and reputational challenges. Manufacturing problems involving its albuterol inhaler led to a 2002 FDA consent decree and a reported $500 million payment to the U.S. Treasury. In 2004 it was accused of using promotional practices and payments to influence prescribing, adding to scrutiny of pharmaceutical marketing. Despite these challenges, it remained a major international drug company; IMS Health ranked it seventeenth among the top twenty pharmaceutical corporations by U.S. sales in June 2005, with a reported 1.4% U.S. market share. On November 4, 2009, Schering-Plough merged with Merck & Co. through a reverse merger. The resulting company adopted the Merck & Co. name, and Schering-Plough ceased to exist as an independent corporation. Its medicines, consumer brands and animal-health operations were absorbed into the enlarged Merck organization, with some businesses later operating under Merck or MSD branding. The former Schering-Plough name therefore describes a historic pharmaceutical company rather than an active standalone brand.
History
Schering-Plough's history began with the separate development of Schering and Plough. Schering AG was established in Germany in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering. Plough, Inc. was founded in the Memphis area in 1908 by Abe Plough, who initially produced and sold a patent remedy. Over time, Plough acquired or developed consumer brands including St. Joseph's Aspirin, Maybelline and Coppertone, and operated a broadcasting division. After the United States entered World War II in 1941, the U.S. government seized Schering AG's American assets. These assets became Schering Corporation and were administered by the government until 1952, when the business was returned to private ownership. Schering expanded in the pharmaceutical sector, including through its 1957 acquisition of White Laboratories. In 1971 Schering Corporation merged with Plough, Inc. to create Schering-Plough Corporation. Abe Plough became chairman of the combined company. The new group combined prescription pharmaceuticals with consumer health and personal-care activities, eventually building international operations in human medicines, animal health and related research. The company continued to broaden its portfolio through acquisitions. It bought a campus in Summit, New Jersey, from Novartis in 2000. On March 12, 2007, it agreed to acquire Organon BioSciences, the pharmaceutical division of Akzo Nobel, for approximately $14.4 billion. Organon BioSciences included Organon, Intervet and Diosynth. The transaction strengthened Schering-Plough in women's health, animal health, vaccines, active pharmaceutical ingredients and late-stage drug development. Schering-Plough's animal-health presence included Intervet and the Coopers Animal Health operation in Upper Hutt, New Zealand. The New Zealand site benefited from the country's disease-quarantine advantages and became a major veterinary-vaccine production location. Following the merger with Merck, the animal-health division initially used Intervet/Schering-Plough branding and later transitioned to Merck Animal Health in the United States and Canada and MSD Animal Health in other markets. A planned combination of the animal-health operations with Merial was abandoned in 2011. The company's product portfolio included allergy, respiratory, cholesterol, oncology, infectious-disease, reproductive-health, immunology and hospital medicines. It also owned or marketed consumer brands such as Coppertone and Dr. Scholl's. Schering-Plough received scrutiny over manufacturing and marketing practices. The FDA consent decree concerning albuterol inhaler manufacturing was announced in 2002, while allegations about promotional practices and payments to doctors emerged in 2004. On November 4, 2009, Schering-Plough merged with Merck & Co. in a reverse merger. The surviving organization adopted the Merck & Co. name, ending Schering-Plough's existence as a standalone corporation. Its major pharmaceutical, consumer-health and animal-health assets became part of the enlarged Merck organization.
- 2009
Merger with Merck & Co.
[1]The reverse merger created the enlarged Merck & Co. organization and ended Schering-Plough as an independent company.
- 2007
Organon BioSciences acquired
[1]Schering-Plough purchased Akzo Nobel's drug unit, adding Organon, Intervet and Diosynth.
- 1971
Schering Corporation merged with Plough, Inc.
[1]The merger created Schering-Plough Corporation, with Abe Plough becoming chairman.
- 1957
Acquisition of White Laboratories
[1]Schering expanded its pharmaceutical operations through the purchase of White Laboratories.
- 1952
Schering Corporation returned to private ownership
[1]The company was released from government administratorship and its assets were sold to the private sector.
- 1941
U.S. Schering assets seized during World War II
[1]The U.S. government seized the American assets of German Schering AG; the business became Schering Corporation.
- 1908
Plough, Inc. founded
[1]Abe Plough established the Memphis-based company that grew from a patent-medicine operation into a diversified consumer-health business.
- 1851
Schering AG established in Germany
[1]Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering founded the German pharmaceutical business that later provided the historical origin of Schering Corporation.
Products and positioning
Large multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company spanning prescription medicines, consumer health and animal health.
Over-the-counter allergy medicine
Claritin
Loratadine-based antihistamine that became one of Schering-Plough's best-known consumer healthcare products. It was positioned as an allergy treatment with relatively low risk of drowsiness compared with older antihistamines and later became part of the Merck portfolio.
Prescription allergy medicine
Clarinex
Desloratadine antihistamine developed as a prescription allergy treatment. It represented Schering-Plough's expansion of its established allergy-medicine franchise beyond the Claritin brand.
Cholesterol-lowering medicines
Zetia and Vytorin
Zetia contained ezetimibe, while Vytorin combined ezetimibe with simvastatin. Together they formed an important cardiovascular and lipid-management franchise in Schering-Plough's prescription portfolio.
Oncology medicine
Temodar
Temozolomide-based oncology medicine used in the treatment of certain brain tumors. It was among the company's most recognized specialist prescription products and subsequently became part of Merck's inherited portfolio.
Respiratory medicines
Nasonex and Asmanex
Respiratory products based on mometasone furoate. Nasonex was associated with nasal allergy treatment, while Asmanex was an inhaled product for respiratory disease management.
Consumer skin care
Coppertone
A major sunscreen and sun-care brand inherited from the Plough side of the company. It remained a prominent consumer-health asset after the Schering-Plough–Merck combination.
Animal health
Intervet
Animal-health business acquired through Organon BioSciences. Its activities included veterinary medicines, vaccines and animal identification services, and it later became part of Merck Animal Health or MSD Animal Health.
Foot care
Dr. Scholl's
Foot-care brand operated by Schering-Plough as part of its consumer-health activities. The brand was included among the assets transferred into the post-merger Merck organization.
Controversies
2004
Allegations concerning marketing incentives and physician payments
Schering-Plough was accused of using marketing gimmicks and payments to doctors to encourage prescriptions of company products. The allegations contributed to scrutiny of pharmaceutical promotional practices.
2002
Albuterol inhaler manufacturing consent decree
Schering-Plough entered a consent decree with the FDA after manufacturing issues involving its albuterol inhaler. The company was ordered to pay $500 million to the U.S. Treasury, according to the referenced account.
Brand decisions
2009
Merge with Merck & Co.M&ABackground
The transaction combined two large pharmaceutical companies and created a broader prescription, consumer-health and animal-health business.
Action taken
Schering-Plough and Merck & Co. completed a reverse merger on November 4, 2009; the resulting company adopted the Merck & Co. name.
Aftermath
Schering-Plough ceased to exist as an independent corporation, while its products and operations were integrated into Merck.
2007
Acquire Organon BioSciencesM&ABackground
Schering-Plough sought to expand its late-stage development pipeline and strengthen women's health, animal health, vaccines and pharmaceutical ingredients.
Action taken
It purchased Akzo Nobel's Organon BioSciences unit for approximately $14.4 billion.
Aftermath
The transaction added Organon, Intervet and Diosynth to Schering-Plough and materially broadened the company's healthcare platform.
Acquisition value. approximately $14.4 billion (2007 announcement)
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