Sales flat at Schering-Plough as manufacturing problems persist

Schering-Plough has reported flat third-quarter 2001 sales at $2.38billion (up 2% excluding currency factors), while net income reached $601 million, or $0.41 per share, an increase of 3% compared with the like, year-earlier period.

Worldwide pharmaceutical sales increased just 1% to $2.08 billion. Once again, the company's best-selling product was the antihistamine Claritin (loratadine), which grew 5% to $828 million, while turnover from Nasonex (mometasone furoate) nasal spray was up 39% to $136 million.

Temodar (temozolomide), S-P's treatment for certain types of brain tumors, saw turnover rise 20% to $45 million, while sales of the platelet aggregation inhibitor Integrilin (eptifibatide) Injection increased 14% to $59 million. Revenues from Remicade (infliximab), a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease, rose to $42 million (compared with $16 million in the third quarter of 2000).