Schering plant fire spares contrast unit

A fire this month at one of Schering's plants in Bergkamen, Germany,had no effect on the pharmaceutical company's contrast agent manufacturing,according to a Schering spokesperson. The fire broke out July16 at Plant B, which manufactures hormone products, and causedestimated damage of over DM 1 million ($674,000) before it wasextinguished. Schering's contrast manufacturing facility, PlantF, is in a separate building from the one in which the fire brokeout, according to the spokesperson.

In other Schering news, the company is expected to post strongerrevenues and income this year, according to Reuter SecuritiesReport. An analyst said the improvement is due to added revenuesfrom several acquisitions made last year, including that of contrastinjector firm Medrad. An improved exchange rate and the end ofextraordinary charges related to its withdrawal of Isovist 280from the market will also help Schering's bottom line. The analystestimated that Schering will report revenues for the year of DM5.7 billion ($3.83 billion), up 24%, and income of DM 337 million($227 million), up 35%.