Schering-Plough has reached an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Schering-Plough Corporation today reported that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle issues related to compliance with the books and records and internal accounting control provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by a Schering-Plough subsidiary in Poland. In connection with this matter, Schering-Plough has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $500,000. A copy of the SEC settlement is available on the Internet at http://www.sec.gov.

"We have worked closely and cooperatively with the SEC in resolving this inquiry, and we are looking forward to putting this matter from the past behind us," said Brent Saunders, Senior Vice President, Global Compliance and Business Practices, Schering-Plough Corporation. "As we implement our Action Agenda to build a new company, one of the drivers of the transformation process is embedding business integrity into every area of the organization worldwide going forward. This is a major initiative, but we believe we are making steady progress."

In November 2003, the SEC issued a formal order with Schering-Plough to investigate whether Polish subsidiaries of several pharmaceutical companies were complying with provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. This act forbids corrupt payments to foreign government officials, and requires strict adherence to proper books and records and internal accounting control standards. The books and records and internal accounting control issues at Schering-Plough's subsidiary in Poland are related to charitable contributions that the subsidiary itself discontinued in March 2002.

Schering-Plough is a global science-based health care company with leading prescription, consumer and animal health products. Through internal research and collaborations with partners, Schering-Plough discovers, develops, manufactures and markets advanced drug therapies to meet important medical needs. Schering-Plough's vision is to earn the trust of the physicians, patients and customers served by its more than 30,000 people around the world.