Teva Reports Third Quarter 2017 Financial Results
Citing earlier than expected competition from generic versions of Copaxone, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. reported that its generic drug profits fell to $619 million from $982 million in the third quarter ending Sept. 30, 2017 with sales down to $3.01 billion from $3.26 billion.
Overall third quarter earnings per share fell to $1.00 from $1.31 during the year earlier period. The company also lowered its outlook for the year to $3.77 per sare from the earlier expectation of $3.87 per share.
Teva said its U.S. revenues of $1.2 billion were down 9% compared to the third quarter of 2016, mainly due to challenging market dynamics including pricing declines resulting from customer consolidation into larger buying groups and accelerated FDA approvals for additional generic versions of competing off-patent medicines.
Global revenues of Copaxone (20 mg/mL and 40 mg/mL), the leading multiple sclerosis therapy in the U.S. and globally, were $1.0 billion, a decrease of 7% compared to the third quarter of 2016, according to the company.
Last month, the FDA approved a generic version of Copaxone 40 mg /mL and an additional generic version of Copaxone 20 mg/mL. A generic version of Copaxone 40 mg /mL was launched in the U.S. market. In the EU, a hybrid version of Copaxone 40 mg/mL was approved.
Teva’s Copaxone revenues in the United States fell to $802 million, a decrease of 8% compared to the third quarter of 2016, due to lower volumes of Copaxone 20 mg/mL, negative net pricing effects, mainly as a result of an increase in managed care rebate accruals for inventory in the channel following the FDA approvals for additional generic competition, partially offset by a price increase of 7.9% in January 2017 for both the 20 mg/mL and 40 mg/mL versions.
At the end of the third quarter of 2017, according to September 2017 IMS data, Teva’s U.S. market shares for the Copaxone products in terms of new and total prescriptions were 25.6% and 28.7%, respectively. Copaxone 40 mg/mL accounted for more than 85% of total Copaxone prescriptions in the U.S.
Copaxone revenues outside the United States were $185 million, down 1%, compared to the third quarter of 2016. Over 75% of European Copaxone prescriptions are now filled with the 40 mg/mL version.
The company also reported that its global Azilect revenues were $36 million, a decrease of 64% compared to the third quarter of 2016 following the introduction of generic competition to Azilect in the United States in 2017.
(Sources: Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries; FirstWord Pharma; Globes)
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
