In re Schering-Plough Corporation / ENHANCE Securities Litigation

Secured a $473 million settlement in the largest securities class action settlement against a pharmaceutical company at that time.

On October 1, 2013, the court granted final approval to a settlement with defendants Schering-Plough Corporation (Schering), Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals (M/S-P), the individual defendants and the underwriter defendants in the amount of $473 million in cash, plus interest.  The settlement resolved all claims in the action.

Labaton Keller Sucharow and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman LLP were the court-appointed co-lead counsel for lead plaintiffs, the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi, the Louisiana Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System and the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (collectively, lead plaintiffs) and the class.

The lead plaintiffs, on behalf of the class, alleged that Schering, M/S-P, and certain of Schering's officers violated the federal securities laws, for among other reasons, failing to disclose material information concerning the commercial prospects of Vytorin (a cholesterol-lowering drug that is a combination of a drug developed by Merck (Zocor) and a drug developed by Schering (Zetia)), the commercial prospects of Zetia, and the results of a clinical trial known as ENHANCE that tested whether Vytorin was more effective than Zocor alone in reducing the intima-media thickness of the carotid arteries.  The action also alleged that Schering, certain of Schering's officers, the director defendants and the underwriter defendants are statutorily responsible for false and misleading statements made in connection with offerings of Schering common stock and preferred stock in August 2007.

A settlement hearing was held on October 1, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Cavanaugh in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, in Courtroom PO 04 of the United States Post Office and Courthouse Building, Newark, NJ 07101.  The deadline for objecting to the Settlement or for opting-back into the class has passed.