Schering-Plough chief executive to buy $2m of company shares

Fred Hassan, chairman and chief executive officer of Schering-Plough, has announced that he is to purchase $2 million (1.02 million pounds) of common shares in the company with his personal funds.

Mr Hassan had intended on purchasing the stock on January 17th 2008, when the stock closed at the price of $21.62, though elected to defer the purchase until after the earnings for the fourth quarter and full year 2007 are announced on February 12th 2008.

He will also wait until the full results of the Enhance trial are discussed at a scientific forum, with this presentation planned for the meeting of the American College of Cardiology towards the end of March.

Mr Hassan said: “As was the case in November 2003 when I purchased $4.68 million in Schering-Plough Common Shares at an average price of $15.42 this investment in Schering-Plough reflects my long-term confidence in the company, its products, including Zetia and Vytorin and our late-stage pipeline.”

He added that he has already made a significant investment of his personal funds into the company and the decision to add a further $2 million is the correct thing to do.

In October 2007, Schering-Plough announced its financial results for the third quarter of the 2007 fiscal year, reporting a nine per cent rise in net sales on a GAAP basis to $2.8 billion.