In a new review on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA), Citigroup (NYSE:C) examines recent moves by pharmaceutical companies Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE; LSE:PFZ) on the generic drug maker. Citigroup says, that in contrast to Merck’s strategy, the move by Pfizer was expected.
A week ago, it was reported that Merck was negotiating with US healthcare insurers to lower the co-payment for Zocor made by patients at pharmacies. This was the first time that an original pharmaceutical company had taken such action.
Citigroup writes that, in contrast, Pfizer announced that it would launch an authorized generic version of Zoloft, and that there was no comparison with Merck’s earlier move. Citigroup adds that the market overreacted to Pfizer’s announcement, and it therefore considers Teva a “Buy” opportunity at its present price. Citigroup also kept its $51 target price for Teva, 70% above its current market price.
Last week, Teva launched generic Zocor. Branded Zocor has $4.6 billion in annual sales in the US. On Friday, Teva announced that it had obtained final US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marketing approval for generic Zoloft. Branded Zoloft had $3 billion in US sales in the 12 months to March 2006.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 2, 2006
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