Kenilworth, NJ
908.298.4000
www.scheringplough.com
Sales: $596 million

Sales: $596 million for sun care and foot care products. Corporate sales: $18.5 billion. Net income: $1.9 billion.

In time for Summer 2009 is Coppertone Duel Defense.

After years of speculation, Merck finally pulled the trigger and agreed to acquire Schering-Plough for $41 billion. The move gives Merck adiverse portfolio across important therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular, respiratory, oncology, neuroscience, infectious disease, im- munology, women’s health, but it also begs the question, “What happens to Coppertone and other personal care brands?”

When the agreement was announced in March, Merck said that S-P had “many attractive consumer brands” including Coppertone and Dr. Scholl’s. Since that announcement, however, Merck has been quiet. Does the silence mean that Coppertone will remain in the Merck family?

Sun care sales were flat last year at $239 million. Sales of foot care products rose 3% to $357 million.

For the first quarter of 2009, corporate sales fell 6% to $4.4 billion.

Kenilworth, NJ
908.298.4000
www.schering-plough.com
Sales: $584 million

Sales:

$584 million for sun and foot care products. Corporate sales: $12.7 billion. Net loss: $1.4 billion.

Sun care sales rose 8% to $239 million and foot care sales rose 1% to $345 million. Corporate sales rose 20% to $12.7 billion.

For summer 2008, Schering-Plough launched several products including several (Sport, Sport Faces and Ultraguard) that provide 70+ SPF protection.

“We are happy to be able to provide innovation by extending our existing line while continuing to meet consumer demand,” said Jennifer Samolewicz, media relations, Copper- tone, Schering Plough Corporation.

Also new is Coppertone Sport QuickCover Lotion Spray in SPF 30. It is a continuous lotion spray that shows where it goes for easy, broad-spectrum protection.

Last month, Schering-Plough won a trade dress suit. A Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Dallas Division) ordered Fruit of the Earth to change the packaging of its generic, no-name sport and baby sunscreens. Schering-Plough maintains that the Fruit of the Earth packaging infringes the distinctive trade dress of its Coppertone sun care products.

In litigation pending before the Texas court, Schering-Plough has sought an expedited resolution of the matter. The Texas court declined to enter a preliminary injunction against Fruit of the Earth at this stage of the proceedings but, after several days of hearings, stated that Fruit of the Earth must change its products’ trade dress, including, among other things, changing the packaging design of products that have already been manufactured. The court further stated that Fruit of the Earth must complete the changes to its product packaging within two weeks, and must certify its compliance to the court. Failure to complete the changes within that time frame will subject Fruit of the Earth to sanctions.

Schering-Plough said it is pleased with the outcome, noting that consumers associate the distinctive Coppertone trade dress with the company’s high-quality, innovative sun care products. The company emphasized that it remains committed to protecting its distinctive Coppertone brand.