Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) acting CEO Eyal Desheh today said that Copaxone continued to lead in new prescriptions for multiple sclerosis in the third quarter of 2013, despite competition in the market.
In the conference call following the publication of Teva's financial report, Desheh said that Copaxone continued to lead in new prescriptions for multiple sclerosis in the US. "Despite the competition, Copaxone leads in prescriptions and in new prescriptions," he said.
Copaxone sales rose 1% in the third quarter to $1.05 billion.
Copaxone's latest rival is Tecfidera, made by Biogen Idec Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB), which had $280 million in sales in the third quarter, $50 million more than the analysts' forecasts. Analysts have marked Tecfidera as a blockbuster, which will reach $3 billion in annual sales.
Commenting on Teva's new therapeutic entities (NTE) program, on which the company is pinning its hopes, Desheh predicts that these generic drugs will have billions of dollars in annual sales with higher profit margins than regular generics.
On December 5, Teva will provide more details about its R&D program, with an emphasis on NTEs. Desheh said today that Teva already had 13 NTEs waiting for approval, meeting its target for this year.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Gregg Gilbert asked Teva president of Global R&D and CSO Dr. Michael Hayden if he would stay on, following Jeremy Levin's firing. Hayden said yes. "I feel that it is a privilege to be the head of the R&D division. I am grateful to Dr. Levin. I will continue to fulfill my duties and realize the strategy, which I think is unique in the industry. My commitment has not changed."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 31, 2013
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