Merck announces EC approval of Schering-Plough Corp.

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. Just days after Pfizer completed its acquisition of Wyeth, another major drug company merger that began earlier this year reached a milestone.

Merck & Co. announced Friday that the European Commission -- the European Union’s counterpart to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission -- had approved its acquisition of Schering-Plough Corp.

“Approval from the European Commission marks a key milestone for the completion of our transaction with Schering-Plough,” Merck CEO Richard Clark said in a statement. “We’re making good progress towards our closing and look forward to creating a strong, global leader that will make a substantial difference to patients and health care around the world.”

Merck said that integration planning teams from the two companies were planning for the combined company to start business as soon as the merger was completed, which they expect to happen in fourth quarter 2009.