KENILWORTH, N.J., November 15, 2005
HOMEAGAIN and the HOMEAGAIN® Pet Recovery Service, a national pet identification microchip database, today announced that it will begin offering new scanners used to detect microchips in companion animals throughout the U.S. This program will be rolled out nationwide in December 2005.
Every new HOMEAGAIN scanner will now read all microchips utilizing the 125 kHz radio frequency including those from companies that market an encrypted chip that previously could not be read by all U.S. scanners. The new scanners will also detect the 134 kHz microchips, or ISO chip, commonly used outside of the United States. While the new scanner will not show the number of the ISO chip, it will indicate the presence of the chip so that steps toward a recovery can be put in place.
“The loss of a pet can be devastating, and the added assurance that there are technologies and systems in place to help reunite families with their missing animal is very comforting to pet lovers,” said Dr. Marty Becker, a popular veterinary contributor to ABC-TV’s, Good Morning America. “We see a number of companion animals lost and separated from their families due to natural disasters such as the recent hurricanes, and microchipping and registering pets with the HOMEAGAIN Pet Recovery Service significantly increases the chances that people will be reunited with their pets.
“The new scanner essentially allows the HOMEAGAIN Pet Recovery Service to track any companion animal that has any frequency microchip currently in use throughout the world,” said Dr. Christopher Pappas, Director of Companion Animal Technical Services, Schering-Plough Animal Health.
“We are also implementing a program where pets coming into the United States ” typically microchipped at 134 kHz ” can be implanted with the HOMEAGAIN 125 kHz microchips at no charge,” Dr. Pappas added. “This process will facilitate making sure pets coming into the U.S. are enrolled in a recovery database. That way if they are ever lost, they can be returned to their owner.”
Since 1995, the HOMEAGAIN Pet Recovery Service has been a leader in companion animal identification and lost pet recovery. Every month, approximately 7,000 lost pets that are microchipped with HOMEAGAIN are reunited with their owners in the United States. With HOMEAGAIN, a lost pet is successfully recovered approximately every six minutes. To date, more than 3 million pets in the U.S. have been implanted with a HOMEAGAIN microchip, resulting in nearly 270,000 successful recoveries. For the convenience of pet owners, shelters and veterinary clinics, the HOMEAGAIN Pet Recovery Service receives enrollments by mail, by fax and online at www.homeagainid.com. The HOMEAGAIN microchip and scanner are manufactured by Digital Angel Corporation (AMEX: DOC) of St. Paul, Minn.
Schering-Plough Animal Health Corp. has contributed nearly $400,000 to aid Hurricane Katrina relief efforts related to displaced animals and expressed its commitment to continue to provide support to organizations giving aid and assistance to displaced animals. Specifically, Schering-Plough Animal Health has donated rehabilitation supplies such as pharmaceuticals, vaccines, surgical tools and materials. In partnership with Digital Angel, Schering-Plough has donated HOMEAGAIN® microchips and scanners to organizations supporting rescue efforts for displaced pets in the Gulf Coast area.
The HOMEAGAIN microchip is marketed by Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Schering-Plough Corp.
About Schering-Plough
Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation is the global animal health care business of Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE:SGP). Schering-Plough is a global science-based health care company with leading prescription, consumer and animal health products. Through internal research and collaborations with partners, Schering-Plough discovers, develops, manufactures and markets advanced drug therapies to meet important medical needs. Schering-Plough’s vision is to earn the trust of the physicians, patients and customers served by its more than 30,000 people around the world. The company is based in Kenilworth, N.J., and its Web site is www.schering-plough.com.
HOMEAGAIN® is a registered trademark of Schering-Plough Veterinary Corporation.
SCHERING-PLOUGH DISCLOSURE NOTICE: The information in this press release includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to the potential market for HomeAgain. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations or forecasts of future events. Schering-Plough does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from Schering-Plough’s forward-looking statements, including market forces, economic factors, product availability, current and future branded, generic or over-the-counter competition and the regulatory process, among other uncertainties. For further details about these or other factors that may impact the forward-looking statements, see Schering-Plough’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the company’s third quarter 2005 10-Q.
SOURCE: Schering-Plough Corporation
For more information, visit: www.HOMEAGAINID.com and www.schering-plough.com