Teva launches generic cholesterol treatment

Teva  photo: Reuters
Teva photo: Reuters

Zetia, the brand version of the drug, had annual sales of $2.7 billion in the US in the year to March.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) continues its series of generic launches in the US, and yesterday announced the launch of generic Zetia (ezetimibe) tablets, 10 mg.

Ezetimibe is a prescription medicine used to lower levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood. Ezetimibe tablets are for patients who cannot control their cholesterol levels by diet and exercise alone. It can be used by itself or with other medicines to treat high cholesterol. Ezetimibe tablets work to reduce the amount of cholesterol the body absorbs.

Ezetimibe tablets had annual sales of approximately $2.7 billion in the US, according to IMS data as of March 2017.

Teva says that according to the American Heart Association approximately one third of American adults (73.5 million people) have high LDL cholesterol. Fewer than 50% of these individuals are being treated for high LDL cholesterol, and approximately 30% have their condition under control. People with high blood cholesterol are at risk of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the US.

“Despite advances in the treatment of high cholesterol in recent years, many people are still living with active disease and are in need of additional generic therapeutic options,” said Dipankar Bhattacharjee, Teva’s president and CEO, Global Generic Medicines. “We are excited to add another strong generic to our US portfolio and see potential to build on its success by leveraging our expertise in the cardiovascular area.”

In recent weeks, Teva has received approvals to market generic versions of conjunctivitis treatment Pataday, AIDS treatment Truvada, and ADHD treatment Strattera.

Teva has a market cap of just over $31 billion. Its share price has recovered a little recently, rising 6% in the past few trading sessions from the low at which it was traded previously. On the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Teva is down 0.46% so far this morning.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 13, 2017

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017

Teva  photo: Reuters
Teva photo: Reuters
Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018