This is a securities class action filed on behalf of investors in Schering-Plough Corporation ("Schering" or the "Company") against the Company and certain of its directors and executive officers.
Schering jointly markets two anti-cholesterol drugs, Vytorin and Zetia, with Merck & Co., Inc. In April 2006, Schering completed a clinical trial called the ENHANCE study, which compared Vytorin (a combination of Zetia and the generic anti-cholesterol drug simvastatin) to simvastatin alone. The study showed that there was no statistically significant difference between Vytorin and simvastatin in terms of reducing atherosclerosis, the disease that causes plaque formation in the arteries and the hardening of the arteries and leads to heart attacks and heart disease. Simvastatin (formerly known as Zocor) and other generics are widely available on the market and cost a fraction of the price of Vytorin and Zetia.
In the two years following completion of the ENHANCE study, the Company engaged in an aggressive marketing campaign touting the benefits of Vytorin and Zetia, attracting billions of dollars in investment without disclosing the negative results of the ENHANCE study. In November of 2007--eighteen months after the completion of ENHANCE--the Company defied scientific protocol and announced it was changing the primary endpoint of the study. After a firestorm of public criticism, the Company retreated from that position--but still did not release the study results. In the ensuing months, pressure against the Company mounted as Congress and federal and state prosecutors began seeking information related to the ENHANCE study and demanding the release of the results. Finally, on March 30, 2008, at the American College of Cardiology Conference in Chicago, Schering released the complete study results. That same day, a panel of expert cardiologists announced that doctors should return to prescribing statins and use the drugs Vytorin and Zetia only once other treatments have failed. As a result, Schering's stock price plummeted and investors suffered billions of dollars of losses.
On April 17, 2008, the Honorable Dennis Cavanaugh of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey appointed the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi, the Louisiana Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System, and the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board as Lead Plaintiffs and BLB&G and Labaton Sucharow as Lead Counsel for the class. Lead Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint on September 15, 2008. Lead Plaintiffs seek recovery on behalf of themselves and the Class under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Defendants moved to dismiss the Amended Complaint on December 10, 2008. Lead Plaintiffs filed their opposition to the motion to dismiss on February 6, 2009. Defendants filed their reply briefs on March 18, 2009. On September 2, 2009, Judge Cavanaugh denied Defendants’ motions to dismiss in their entirety. Click here to view the opinion. Defendants moved for reconsideration on September 17, 2009, Lead Plaintiffs filed their opposition brief on October 5, 2009, and briefing was completed on October 13, 2009. Defendants' motion for reconsideration was denied on June 21, 2010. Defendants answered on November 18, 2009, and Plaintiffs are actively pursuing discovery. If you wish to discuss the case, please contact us at: 800-380-8496.
