Schering-Plough CEO, Under Fire, to Retire

Schering-Plough Corp. said Chief Executive Richard Kogan, who is under fire for recent private meetings with analysts and fund managers, will retire and resign from the board by April.

Separately, Merck & Co said the Justice Department is investigating its marketing practices as part of a larger probe into pharmaceutical companies, but noted the probe had been previously disclosed in its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Merck’s news followed Schering-Plough’s announcement Tuesday that the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts had issued two subpoenas related to a probe of its sales and marketing practices.

The news led to a stock slump across the pharmaceutical industry. Schering-Plough’s stock fell 87 cents, or 4%, to $20.66; Merck fell $2.02, or 3.7%, to $52.80, both on the New York Stock Exchange.

Kogan, 61, has worked at the drug firm for 20 years, having served as CEO since 1996 for the maker of blockbuster allergy drug Claritin.