Pharmaceutical company intelligence reports from Espicom provide a full review of the company's activities together with five-year sales forecasts for its key products. The company's financial performance is covered in-depth, from its latest results to a complete analysis of its latest full fiscal year and an outlook for the future. A section on company strategy covers mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, key agreements, products and R&D. An overview of key products and R&D is followed by a comprehensive review of the company's product portfolio and research and development pipeline by therapeutic area. In addition, supplementary appendices provide more in-depth information on financials, agreements and corporate events. Schering-Plough is a global research-based healthcare company with leading prescription, consumer and animal health products. Schering-Plough is based in New Jersey in the US, and currently has business operations in more than 120 countries outside of the US.

Schering-Plough's solid performance in the short- to medium-term will depend on the strength of its product portfolio. Remicade, Nasonex/Asmanex, Temodar, Avelox and PEG-Intron are all forecast to demonstrate sustained growth into fiscal 2010, offsetting any losses predicted in other major products. Furthermore, Zetia and Vytorin, the key components of the Schering-Plough/Merck & Co cholesterol joint venture, will make an increasingly strong contribution to pharmaceutical revenue. In addition, Schering-Plough has historically sought regulatory approval to switch prescription products to OTC status as a means of extending a product's life-cycle. This strategy has most recently been demonstrated with Claritin, which has made a successful transition to the OTC market.

Longer-term growth will be determined by the success of Schering-Plough's R&D activities. The company's pipeline is relatively limited in terms of novel candidate products, however, golimumab, SCH 503034, vicriviroc and SCH 530348 have demonstrated promise in their respective indications and could form the basis of Schering-Plough's product portfolio in the future. R&D expenditure increased by 16.1 per cent in 2005, and the company has intimated investment in research is likely to increase in coming years due to the progression of the early-stage pipeline and increased clinical activity.