The company attributed the lower second quarter earnings to the acquisition of biotech group Organon BioSciences.
The company posted net sales of $4.9 billion in the second quarter of 2008, up 55%, compared to $3.18 billion in the second quarter of 2007.
Fred Hassan, chairman and CEO of Schering-Plough, said: “We are very pleased to see another quarter of strong performance and broad-based growth for our company. Through the action agenda we launched in 2003, we were determined to diversify our company and to build a deep Phase III pipeline.
“Today, we are succeeding on both fronts. Our Phase III pipeline is now the strongest in our company’s history, and the $16 billion acquisition of Organon BioSciences in November 2007 has already met its accretion target for 2008.”