Who leaked the scary Copaxone numbers? Teva aims to find out

Teva's best-selling multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone will face generic competition next year, fully 18 months before the company had anticipated. That's gonna hurt. How much will it hurt? An Israeli publication thinks it has Teva's answer to that--a 42% cut to the drug's sizable profits.

That number comes from a financial forecast The Marker obtained, apparently from a Teva ($TEVA) source. But Teva followed that with a press release pooh-poohing the number. The information "appears to be from an outdated presentation," the Israeli drugmaker said, adding that it's "incomplete" and "does not reflect our full analysis."

And woe to the source of that report, the company said. Teva intends to investigate the leak, which is far from the first anonymous tipoff in recent months. Anonymous sources of one kind or another have alerted the media to Teva's plans, including details about layoffs and behind-the-scenes management dust-ups. MORE