Merck to cut 1,200 sales jobs following regulatory setbacks

NEW YORK (AP) - Drug developer Merck says it is cutting 1,200 sales jobs in the United States following a week of regulatory setbacks for two drug candidates.

The job cuts follow Food and Drug Administration rejections for the company's proposed allergy drug combining the active ingredients of Merck's Singulair and Schering-Plough Corp.'s Claritin. The FDA also rejected the company's developing cholesterol drug Cordaptive, while publicly demanding the company clean up problems at its main vaccine plant.

In a statement, Merck & Co. says the new job cuts are part of its ongoing restructuring plan, while touting the string of successful product launches in 2006.