Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) has obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the company's generic version of Eloxatin (Oxaliplatin injection) and has launched the product. Oxaliplatin injection is a chemotherapy treatment for stage III colon cancer.
Teva has launched 50 mg/10 mL and 100 mg/20 mL dosages of the drug. Brand sales of Eloxatin totaled $1.3 billion in the US in 2008, according to IMS data.
In June, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey granted summary judgment in Teva's favor in a patient infringement case brought by Sanofi-Aventis SA (NYSE: SNY; Euronext: SAN) and Debiopharm SA. The two companies have appealed the decision, and Sanofi-Aventis has sued the FDA to rescind all approvals for Oxaliplatin injection until a ruling on the appeal.
Pharmaceutical company Hospira also reported that it has received approval to begin marketing.
Another matter affecting Teva is the continued reduction in its debt. In thesecond quarter of 2009 Teva returned $770 million of a bridging loan taken from Bank Hapoalim (LSE: 80OA; TASE: POLI) and Bank Leumi (TASE:LUMI) to finance the acquisition of Barr pharmaceuticals. Teva also reported than additional $600 million will be repaid during the third quarter. With the fall in its financial leverage, the belief is that Teva is ready to implement another acquisition.
Teva's share closed at $51.47 on Nasdaq yesterday. The share rose 0.6% in early trading on the TASE today to NIS 199.60.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 12, 2009
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