Senator Pulls Bill Favoring Schering-Plough

The chief Senate backer of a bill that could help Schering-Plough Corp. win a lucrative patent extension on a popular allergy drug abruptly withdrew the legislation from a committee agenda amid a welter of negative publicity. The delay by Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) meant that the company probably will have to wait until the next session of Congress to press its case. The bill had been slated for action in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Madison, N.J.-based Schering-Plough has mounted a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign in recent years for legislation that could aid its efforts to extend its patent on the allergy-relief drug Claritin. The patent is scheduled to expire in 2002. At that point, generic companies plan to jump into the market with cheaper versions of a drug touted as an antihistamine without the sedative effects of other medication. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said the bill is dead for the year, noting that the pharmaceutical industry itself seemed divided on whether to give Schering-Plough an opportunity to lock in what could be billions of dollars of profit. Schering-Plough spokeswoman Denise Foy said she did not view the delay as a setback for the legislation. “It’s my understanding that they held it over because they are running out of time” in this year’s session, Foy said.