Schering AG CEO buoyant about future profits

The CEO of German-based Schering AG remains positive about the company’s future, despite a difficult 2005.

Hubertus Erlen told journalists at a breakfast meeting on Tuesday that the firm was sticking to its target for a profit margin of 18 per cent in 2006, and shook off concerns that the firm’s margins were too low for the sector.

Mr Erlen also remained positive on Schering’s cancer drug PTK/ZK, believing that the drug will reach the market by 2009 at the latest. The drug had seen disappointing results and requires more clinical testing before regulatory approval can be made.

“We are positioned for growth in all our businesses. We expect growth in 2006 and 2007. We have said that 2006 will be a sort of emergency landing station, many of the measures we have introduced won’t kick in until after 2006,” Bloomberg reported him as saying.

He added that a purchase of Altana would “make no sense”, adding that the firm “sees no need to alter the structure of its portfolio”, and that the companies had taken different strategic routes.

Meanwhile, the firm has announced the start of three phase II trials for its anti-cancer drug ZK-EPO, to assess the drugs safety and effectiveness in small cell lung cancer, breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

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