But at least three of the research sites being shut down stand out: those that were originally part of Organon, the pharmaceutical-making arm of the Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel.
The big, expensive bet he made by buying Dutch drug maker Organon is looking all the more important (see "Fix It, Fred").
Schering-Plough continues to execute on our Action Agenda and is now building the base and diversifying and strengthening the company, particularly through the recent acquisition of Organon BioSciences.
Further trials are taking place and pharmaceutical company Organon is developing the actual pill which it hopes could be available within five years.
Organon was only the latest of many middle-sized European drugs firms to succumb to a takeover: Switzerland's Serono and Germany's Schering, Altana and Schwarz were all sold in 2006.
Manufacturers Organon plan to launch the Nuvaring in the US later this year, following on with a European launch once marketing approval is agreed.
The sugammadex molecule resembles a hungry octopus, with eight chemical arms that can grab the muscle relaxant already sold by Organon and put it into a mawlike hole.
Organon chemist Anton Bom had the radical idea of making a drug that targets another drug, rather than targeting a protein, as just about every other drug on the market does.
Another analyst asked if the company could provide guidance as to what the combined earnings of Schering-Plough and Organon would have looked like in prior years, for comparison purposes, and was told that wouldn't be possible for accounting reasons.
Another potential issue: Most of the studies with sugammadex have been done with Zemeuron, a muscle relaxant also made by Organon.
Now that he'd turned the drug maker around, the big question seemed to be whether he could keep it growing with an acquisition of Organon Biosciences.
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