Schering-Plough Beats 4th-Quarter Estimates

Drug maker Schering-Plough Corp. said fourth-quarter profit rose 21% to $506 million, or 34 cents a share, a penny better than analysts expected, on a 12% increase in sales to $2.3 billion. Sales got a boost from a 14% increase in sales of Claritin, the world’s top-selling allergy drug. Shares of Madison, N.J.-based Schering-Plough rose 81 cents to close at $46 on the NYSE. The shares have fallen 16% in the last 12 months, partly on concerns about how soon Claritin could face generic competition. A key Claritin patent expires in 2002, though there are other patents on the drug.