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Article: Sepracor to get $5m in antihistamine pact Will develop stronger Claritin for Schering-Plough
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- December 9, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1997 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Sepracor Inc. yesterday said it would receive $5 million from
Schering-Plough Corp. to develop a purer, more potent form of
Claritin, Schering-Plough's antihistamine used by people with
allergies.
The agreement is designed to allow Schering-Plough to extend
the life of Claritin, the nation's best-selling antihistamine, after
a key patent held by the company expires in 4 1/2 years. The allergy
drug is also the dominant player in the $3 billion worldwide
antihistamine market, posting sales of $1.3 billion for the first
nine months of this year. Last year Claritin's sales totaled $1.2
billion.
And while generic drug makers will scramble to develop a carbon
copy of Claritin when the ...