Last Minute Negotiations Lead to Withdrawal of PETA-Sponsored Resolution

For Immediate Release:
April 26, 2005

Contact:
Jessica Sandler 757-622-7382

Palo Alto, Calif. — Last-minute discussions between Schering-Plough executives and PETA science advisors have led the animal advocacy group to withdraw a shareholder resolution that was to be voted on at the company’s annual meeting in Palo Alto on Tuesday, April 26. The resolution, part of PETA’s "Give the Animals 5" Campaign, called on the company to replace five deadly animal tests with effective, state-of-the-art non-animal test methods that are currently available and in use in the European Union, Canada, and other countries. Both PETA and Schering will highlight the agreement at today’s meeting.

In exchange for the resolution’s withdrawal, Schering-Plough has committed to "conduct an interactive dialogue with [PETA] over the next 12 months in a good faith manner intended to cover the items raised [by PETA]." Items for discussion will include the following:

· Providing information on companywide use of animal vs. non-animal methods for the five health effects outlined in the resolution
· Providing a rationale for not using a non-animal approach for any of the five health effects
· Supporting the request of a PETA-led coalition of animal protection organizations for observer access to an international policy forum on pharmaceutical testing and regulation

Working with a number of its members, PETA has filed similar resolutions with 16 of the largest chemical and pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. The filings have led to productive discussions between PETA’s science advisors and several of the other companies, as a result of which, PETA agreed to withdraw its resolutions from Johnson & Johnson, ExxonMobil, and Dow.

"We are pleased with the constructive and cooperative attitude that Schering-Plough has brought to these discussions," says PETA’s science policy advisor, Troy Seidle. "PETA looks forward to an ongoing and productive dialogue, through which we can help the company save time and money by using the most cutting-edge non-animal test methods, and the company, in turn, can help us save animals from suffering and death in cruel and outdated toxicity tests."

A copy of the resolution is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA’s Web site StopAnimalTests.com.