Schering-Plough Announces Executive Changes in Schering-Plough Research Institute

    KENILWORTH, N.J., July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Schering-Plough Corporation
 (NYSE:   SGP) today announced executive changes in Schering-Plough Research
 Institute (SPRI), the research and development arm of Schering-Plough.
     Thomas P. Koestler, Ph.D., has been named executive vice president and
 president of SPRI and a member of the company's Executive Management Team
 (EMT). Koestler was previously executive vice president, Global
 Development, SPRI, and an advisor to EMT. He succeeds Cecil B. Pickett,
 Ph.D., who is retiring from the company to join Biogen Idec. In addition,
 Catherine D. Strader, Ph.D., executive vice president, Discovery Research,
 SPRI, is promoted to executive vice president, SPRI, and Chief Scientific
 Officer of the company. These changes are effective Sept. 1, 2006.
     "Tom Koestler has the leadership and experience to advance our product
 pipeline and ensure that Schering-Plough remains at the forefront of drug
 discovery and development," said Fred Hassan, chairman and CEO. "As we
 congratulate Tom in taking on this new role, we also thank Cecil Pickett
 for the enormous contributions he has made in building SPRI to its level of
 scientific excellence and directing the exciting research paths now being
 explored. Schering-Plough, and the patients who someday will benefit from
 medicines now in development, are truly indebted to Cecil."
     Hassan also gave credit to Dr. Strader for advances being achieved in
 the company's discovery programs. "Catherine has built a highly productive
 discovery group that is making exciting progress in finding new molecular
 approaches to treating serious diseases."
     Hassan said that to facilitate the changes in SPRI and ensure a smooth
 transition, he has formed an R&D Council, which he will chair and which
 will include senior SPRI executives.
     Koestler in his new position will be responsible for all aspects of
 SPRI, including replacing Pickett in heading up the Pharmaceutical
 Leadership Board (PLB). The PLB guides the strategic direction of product
 development programs and oversees the movement of projects through the
 development, registration and launch phases.
     Koestler joined Schering-Plough in August 2003 as executive vice
 president, Global Regulatory Affairs and Project Management, SPRI,
 responsible for globalizing the regulatory affairs function and
 strengthening the link between the Global Pharmaceutical Business
 operations, SPRI and manufacturing through the project management process.
 He was appointed to his most recent position in January 2005. In that role,
 Koestler was responsible for setting the strategic direction and
 implementation plans for the pharmaceutical development organization,
 including worldwide clinical development, pharmaceutical sciences, global
 regulatory affairs and global project management.
     Koestler has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical
 industry. Before joining Schering-Plough, he was senior vice president and
 head of global regulatory affairs for Pharmacia Corporation. Prior to
 joining Pharmacia, Koestler was senior vice president and global head, drug
 regulatory affairs, compliance assurance, clinical safety and epidemiology
 for Novartis. Before that appointment, he was senior director, drug
 regulatory affairs, at Ortho McNeil and a director of regulatory affairs at
 Bristol-Myers Squibb.
     Koestler received his Ph.D. degree from the State University of New
 York (SUNY) at Buffalo, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, where he studied
 medicine and pathology. He holds a B.S. degree in biology from Daeman
 College, Amherst, N.Y.
     Strader is responsible for the drug discovery operations of Schering-
 Plough, including biology, genomics, medicinal and structural chemistry
 research, through both internal programs and external collaborations. The
 Discovery group is focused on finding novel therapeutic agents in the areas
 of respiratory, cardiovascular, oncology, neurobiology, inflammation and
 infectious diseases, pursuing both small molecule and biologics-based
 approaches to treatment. Strader also chairs the Research Leadership
 Committee, with oversight responsibility for the company's preclinical
 research portfolio.
     Strader joined Schering-Plough in 1995 as vice president, CNS,
 cardiovascular and genomics research. She was appointed senior vice
 president, discovery biological research, in 2002 and assumed her most
 recent position in 2003. Strader came to Schering-Plough from Merck
 Research Laboratories, where she served as executive director, department
 of molecular pharmacology and biochemistry.
     Strader earned a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of
 Virginia, Charlottesville, Va., and a Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the
 California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. She completed
 postdoctoral work at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke
 University, Durham, N.C.
     Schering-Plough is a global science-based health care company with
 leading prescription, consumer and animal health products. Through internal
 research and collaborations with partners, Schering-Plough discovers,
 develops, manufactures and markets advanced drug therapies to meet
 important medical needs. Schering-Plough's vision is to earn the trust of
 the physicians, patients and customers served by its more than 32,000
 people around the world. The company is based in Kenilworth, N.J., and its
 Web site is http://www.schering-plough.com.
 
 

SOURCE Schering-Plough Corporation