NEW YORK (AP) - Drug developer Merck says it is cutting 1,200 sales jobs in
the United States following a week of regulatory setbacks for two drug
candidates.
The job cuts follow Food and Drug Administration rejections for the
company's proposed allergy drug combining the active ingredients of Merck's
Singulair and Schering-Plough Corp.'s Claritin. The FDA also rejected the
company's developing cholesterol drug Cordaptive, while publicly demanding the
company clean up problems at its main vaccine plant.
In a statement, Merck & Co. says the new job cuts are part of its ongoing
restructuring plan, while touting the string of successful product launches in
2006.
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