| Schering-Plough Corporation | One Giralda Farms, Madison, NJ 07940-1010 |
| www.sch-plough.com | (973) 822-7000 Fax: (973) 822-7048 |
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Heavily into drugs
By taking care of our sunburns, runny noses, and aching feet, Schering-Plough has become one of the world's leading drug giants. Spending over $700 million on research and development efforts each year, the company develops and markets over-the-counter and prescription products to alleviate the ailments of its millions of customers around the world. Schering-Plough's basket of familiar brand names includes Coppertone sunscreen and Dr. Scholl's footcare products.
German chemist Ernst Schering founded his company in 1864 in order to sell chemicals to Berlin pharmacists. The American subsidiary of Schering, established in 1928, separated from the parent company during World War II and then merged with Memphis-based Plough in 1971. The merger enabled Schering-Plough to expand further into the consumer products market through the introduction of products such as Correctal laxative, Lotrimin antifungal cream, and Afrin nasal spray. Schering-Plough even makes those Paas Easter Egg coloring kits that kids across the country use each spring.
Blue skies smiling at Schering-Plough
Of all these familiar products though, it is Claritin, the world's best-selling antihistamine, that is perhaps the company's crown jewel. Claritin brought in $2.3 billion in 1998. That figure represents a 35 percent increase over the previous year, as sales were boosted by the first pharamceutical advertising campaign featuring a celebrity spokesperson (perky Good Morning America co-host Joan Lunden). Schering-Plough has since continued to increase its advertising budget for Claritin, projecting the effort to result in annual sales approaching $4 billion by 2001.
Unfortunately for the company, the patent to the Claritin formula is expected to expire in 2002, which would open the door for other companies to produce cost-cutting generic versions, and potentially eat up half of Schering-Plough's market share within two years. Schering-Plough has already received two patent extensions, and has attempted to influence Congressional legislation in order to further protect its interests. Critics have charged that keeping cheaper generic versions of Claritin from entering the market could cost allergy sufferers $250 million a year and open the door for other drug companies to attempt similar competition-stifling measures with their own products. The company is rumored to be mulling a merger with Warner-Lambert, another pharmaceutical giant, in the event that it can not extend its patent.
Drug deals
Schering-Plough has made a concerted effort to boost revenues in other ways as well. In 1997, it bought Mallinckrodt Inc.'s international veterinary health business for $405 million, strengthening its position in the United States and Europe while gaining a presence in the Pacific Rim and Latin America. Schering-Plough was active the following year as well, entering into a five-year research venture with Pharmacopeia and signing a $75 million deal to develop gene therapies for hepatitis with Immune Response Corp. It also paid big bucks for marketing rights to a number of pharmaceuticals. These dealings have paid off - the pharmaceuticals, animal health products, and consumer products businesses all posted substantially increased sales in 1998, raising overall revenue for the year by 19 percent to $8.1 billion.
Mixing the new with the old
Schering-Plough announced in 1999 that it had developed a new combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C called Rebetron with the ICN Pharmaceuticals company. The treatment uses pills of ribavirin, which Schering-Plough has exclusive rights to license, and injections to treat the malady. Unfortunately, the combined treatment is very expensive for patients and S-P has received much outside pressure to make the treatment more affordable. Schering-Plough also built a $25 million manufacturing plant in Singapore as part of the company's plan to produce Asmanex inhalers to soothe the effects of asthma. Schering-Plough expects to receive $300 million in 2000 from product sales and plans to be the only worldwide provider of the asthma drug, shipping it primarily to the United Kingdom and the United States.
On the consumer products side, Schering-Plough is also concentrating on expanding its key product line of Coppertone by offering a new sun care line that does not need to be rubbed into the skin of consumers. To promote the new products, Coppertone commercials will star Little Miss Coppertone, an icon that has not been used in 46 years.
Making friends
Schering-Plough has treatments in development phases right now through agreements with numerous companies. Most notable are the parnership for asthma medication with Texas Biotechnology Corp., collaboration with Transgene on gene therapy products, and an agreement with competitor Merck for prescription cholesterol and respiratory drugs.
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Schering-Plough conducts extensive on-site college recruiting and seeks new recruits on a local, ad hoc basis. According to one insider, "there is on-campus recruiting at the top science schools for PhD students." Employee referrals are also quite common. Typically "there is only one round of interviewing," consisting of one day of interviews with different supervisors in different departments. "You usually do interviews with more than one person, generally four or five," no matter what job you're applying for. One insider notes that "it helps if you know someone who can put your resume directly on the desk rather than having it go through the (anti) personnel department," which is notorious for "losing resumes and not knowing who to send for which interview."
The advice of those who have completed the Schering-Plough interview process is to "prepare for the technical questions" because they are "often the decisive factor in choosing one candidate over another." It's good to "learn about the company's products and types of therapy (cardiovascular, allergy/asthma, etc.)." You can brush up on S-P by "picking up the company brochures from the lobby and visiting internal sites." Advises another source: "S-P likes bright, energetic, and optimistic candidates. They might ask in some way about your trouble shooting ability." Schering-Plough also places ads in "technical and trade journals and in newspapers."
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All grown up
Employees describe Schering-Plough as a "quickly growing company" that offers new employees "tremendous opportunities to move up the career ladder." "The average turnaround for a supervisor (the starting position for a college grad) is about a year or so before promotion," says one insider. The relationships between the company's layers of management vary. Some complain that upper management "remains inaccessible," while others comment that upper-level managers "listen and offer help to even the lowest and newest employees."
Second to none
For field representatives, one rep says that the support Schering-Plough gives "is second to none." Perks for sales reps include "a late model car, great benefits program, and an un-capped bonus program," as well as "the best sales and medical training program in the industry." Many feel, however, "the best perk at Schering-Plough is the profit sharing," which means "if the company makes a 15 percent profit, you get 15 percent of your salary in the form of stock." Many note that at Schering-Plough "the hours are long, but the salaries are excellent." It is an environment in which "hard work is recognized and rewarded and middle-of-the-road performers typically get lost in the shuffle." One tired informant concludes, "it is very common to work late hours and/or weekends to push a process through: this is our competitive edge."
Family-friendly
Despite the long hours, "an important part of the culture" at Schering-Plough is that it is "very concerned about families and knows that families need together-time." All agree that "Schering-Plough has tried hard to work on a 'family-friendly' image." While there is currently a company-sponsored childcare facility at the company's headquarters, some complain that it "is not cheap!" and that "the subsidy paid really doesn"t make a difference."
Discriminating taste
Despite a racial discrimination case brewing at the Schering-Plough facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, many employees feel the company "is very committed to giving everyone a fair chance and that is exactly what's done." One employee notes that "women and minorities occupy many positions in senior management." In 1998, Raul Cesan, a Hispanic, was named president and COO of the company. However, "Working Mother Magazine used to give Schering-Plough a favorable rating, but now gives it a low one because of the newer criteria addressing the glass ceiling policy." In general, however, "Schering is better in its treatment of women than most."
Off with your blouse!
Schering-Plough "strongly believes in personal and professional development." Consequently, the company will "give you the tools and support you need to succeed." Flex hours at Schering-Plough means "you have to work certain core hours (at least 40 hours a week), but you get to be fairly flexible about the rest." The dress code is "simple," says one insider. "Supervisors generally wear a shirt and tie covered by a white lab coat." Adds another informant, "the men are usually in Dockers and button-down shirts," while "some management types wear ties." Most of the engineers and chemists "wear jeans and a nice shirt." Safety shoes and sneakers are provided by Schering-Plough for free. For women, "relaxed dress is the norm," but "suits are preferred" for meetings with clients. This rule, however, does not apply to women in the lab. As one female chemist notes, "I gave up on the silk blouses after I got too many bleach, acid, and blood spots on them."
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Corporate Human Resources
Personnel
Management Associate Program1
One Giralda Farms
Madison
NJ
07940
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Allergy/respiratory;Anti-infective/anticancer;Dermatological and cardiovascular products;Animal health;Over-the-counter and personal care brand name products;Biotech R&D;Sun care products
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Abbott Laboratories;American Home Products;Amgen;AstraZeneca;Bayer AG;Bristol-Myers Squibb;Chiron;Eli Lilly;Genentech;Glaxo Wellcome;Hoescht AG;Johnson & Johnson;Merck;Novartis;Perrigo;Pfizer;Pharmacia & Upjohn;Procter & Gamble;Rhone Holding;SmithKline Beecham;Warner-Lambert
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