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W.H. Conzen; Former CEO of Drug Maker Schering-Plough

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W.H. Conzen, 84, the former chief executive of drug maker Schering-Plough Corp. and the driving force behind the merger that created the company. Conzen began working in the pharmaceutical industry, at the Schering AG company, in his native Germany in 1931. He was named general manager after transferring to a subsidiary, Scherag Ltd., in South Africa during World War II. He later moved to the United States and became president of Schering. He was a key proponent of the 1971 merger between Schering Corp. and Plough Inc. of Memphis, Tenn. Schering-Plough Corp., which makes the Claritin line of antihistamines, is now based in Madison, N.J. Conzen retired as CEO in 1978, and remained chairman of the board until 1980. In Newark, N.J., on Sunday.

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