Tuesday, December 2, 2008

What Happened to the November "Investor FAQs" on Schering's Website?


I was puzzled to learn, just this morning, that Schering has apparently withdrawn (see -- it's not there!) the November 14, 2008 "Investor FAQs" PDF file that contained the October 2008 Monthly IMS Vytorin/Zetia Scrip data.

Why did Schering-Plough take it down? I dunno. Repeating it here, now:

. . . . . . .Total US Cholesterol Management Market

Oct 2008: 20,292

Sept 2008: 19,666

Total Merck/Schering-Plough Franchise

Oct 2008: 2,186

Sept 2008: 2,171

VYTORIN

Oct. 2008: 1,207

Sept 2008: 1,202

ZETIA

Oct. 2008: 978

Sept. 2008: 969. . . .

Importantly, once filed with the SEC, on a Form 8-K, it cannot simply be "disappeared". So, the original data remains safe at the SEC -- right here.

This creates a rather-odd single event of asymmetry, though -- all the other monthly updates are available on both the Schering website Investor FAQs index page, and at the SEC -- except the one filed Novemeber 14, 2008. What is up with that?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Then there's this:

Caution: 2009 prediction lists ahead
December 2, 2008 — 11:24am ET | By Tracy Staton

Crunch paves way for pharma deals

Brace yourselves for the onslaught of pharma predictions for the new year (including ours). Today brings the first, at least the first we've seen, and at Dec. 2, it's a tad early. But maybe CNBC's Mike Huckman wanted to beat the rush. Mike Huckman offers nine prognostications for 2009 (nine in 09, get it?); here are a few to whet your appetite.

M&A of all kinds: Pharma buying out pharma, pharma buying out big biotech, pharma buying out little biotech. Some of this is just common sense; as the economy contracts, industries tend to consolidate. Plus, with biotech companies facing capital shortages--and stock prices on the decline--they become motivated sellers at a price that can really motivate buyers. "Schering-Plough CEO Fred Hassan (photo) told me in a recent interview that biotech is cheap and compelling," Huckman writes. And Hassan is far from alone