Teva to resume anesthesia marketing due to shortage

Teva was in the past subject to many suits after patients treated with Propofol contracted Hepatitis C.

29 January 13 14:50, Globes' correspondent

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) will resume marketing of its anesthesia, Propofol, by the end of February, to help ease a shortage in the US. Teva discontinued its involvement with propofol in 2010.

Germany's Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA has also increased propofol production and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will continue imports of a similar drug Propoven. The ASA is working with the FDA to mitigate and prevent further shortages.

In 2010 and 2011 Teva was forced to pay over $800 million compensation in suits and out of court settlements to patients suffering Hepatitis C from contaminated Propofol. Teva claimed the fault was with negligent use by doctors. As a result of these suits and an FDA warning about problems in its California production plant, the company stopped producing the anesthesia in May 2010.

Propofol was also reportedly found in the home of singer Michael Jackson when he died but it was not part of a contaminated batch that had recently been pulled from shelves by Teva.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 29, 2013

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