US FTC approves Teva's Cephalon acquisition

Teva will have to sell its generic versions of three Cephalon brand drugs.

9 October 11 11:58, Globes' correspondent

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) acquisition of Cephalon Inc. (Nasdaq: CEPH), and granted early termination of waiting period under the HartScottRodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

As part of the approval, Teva will sell two Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDA) for its generic versions of Cephalon drugs: cancer treatment Actiq and muscle relaxant Amrix. According to IMS Health data brand Actiq has $173 million in annual sales in the US, and Amrix has $125 million. Teva will also grant its non-exclusive US rights to its generic version of Cephalon's Provigil to a third party. Provigil has $1.1 billion in annual US sales. Provigil is a treatment for improving wakefulness in people with sleep apnea and narcolepsy.

Teva and Cephalon are still waiting for approval of the merger by the EU European Antitrust Commission, after which they expect to close the merger by October 14.

In a separate development, Teva's British subsidiary Teva UK Ltd. obtained marketing approval for its generic Salmeterol pMDI inhaler, the first company to obtain this permission. Salmeterol treats asthma caused by exercise and at night in adults and adolescents over 12 years of age, as well as breathing problems caused by other chest diseases known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or chronic bronchitis in adults. Brand Salmeterol is made by GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE; LSE: GSK).

Teva's share price fell 2.2% on Nasdaq on Friday to $36.75, giving a market cap of $34.5 billion, and fell 1.4% in morning trading on the TASE to NIS 137.80.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 9, 2011

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