Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) will enter the personalized medicine field, which will have high efficiency to cost ratios, albeit limited market segments, says Harel Finance analyst Steven Tepper following yesterday's speech by new Teva president and CEO Dr. Jeremy Levin at the ILSI Biomed 2012 National Life Sciences and Technology Week conference. Tepper says that the appointment of Dr. Michal Hayden, an expert in personalized medicine, as president of Global R&D and Chief Scientific Officer hints at this direction.
Tepper says, "Teva will continue to be a leader in generics, and will presumably continue to develop non-prescription drugs and biosimilars, which are essential in a world of escalating health expenses." He adds, "Teva is not abandoning the innovative field, but will presumably try to focus on the diseases of tomorrow in an attempt to reach drugs with high cost-efficiency ratios."
Finally, "Teva, which already has geographical diversity, will continue to expand geographically, especially in emerging markets, such as China and India, as well as in South America."
Tepper gives Teva a "Buy" recommendation with a target price of $55/NIS 212. Teva's share price rose 1.5% by early afternoon on the TASE today to NIS 150.20, after rising 0.5% on Nasdaq yesterday to $39.18, giving a market cap of $36.9 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 23, 2012
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