SCHERING-PLOUGH TO EXPAND OPERATIONS IN BRAZIL

New Jersey-based Schering-Plough will establish Schering-Plough Produtos Farmaceuticos Limitada, a wholly-owned operation based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to market its core products, and will restructure its agreement with Brazilian drugmaker Mantefarma, the company announced.

Schering-Plough entered into an agreement in 1991 with Mantefarma to market and distribute several products through Industria Quimica e Farmaceutica Schering-Plough, S.A. Under a new agreement, Mantefarma, which will now be known as Mantecorp, will continue to manufacture a number of Schering-Plough primary care products.

Schering-Plough Produtos Farmaceuticos Limitada will assume commercial responsibility for several specialty care products, including Peg-Intron (peginterferon alfa-2b), Temodal (temozolomide) and Caelyx (pegylated liposomal doxorubicin HCl). The company also will market the primary care products Zetia (ezetimibe), Zetsim (ezetimibe/simvastatin), Claritin (loratadine) and Clarinex.