Schering-Plough Gains on Clarinex Approval

Schering-Plough

>

(SGP)

was rising in the premarket after the FDA cleared it to sell a new allergy medication.

The company was gaining 5% to $38.25 on Instinet after receiving approval for Clarinex, the successor to its blockbuster Claritin, which loses patent protection in 2002. The gain is despite Schering's warning that fourth-quarter earnings would fall below expectations and that it might have to pay $500 million to resolve manufacturing issues with regulators.

Schering-Plough said it expects to earn 36 cents a share in the fourth quarter, about 12% below analyst estimates and down from 39 cents a share last year.

Sepracor

(SEPR)

, which will collect a royalty on Clarinex, was also gaining on the clearance.