Copaxone (Glatiramer Acetate) had sales of almost $4 billion. A U.S. patent protecting the drug until 2015 was invalidated in July by a U.S. Court of Appeals, opening the way for cheaper generic competitors as soon as May.
The most important thing for Teva to do is bring new drugs to market than can offset generic competition for Copaxone, according to David Maris, a senior research analyst at BMO Capital Markets in New York. “They have the Copaxone reformulation, and they have other drugs in the pipeline, like Laquinimod,” Maris said in a Jan. 23 telephone interview. “Corporate governance is the umbrella over it all. If they don’t address that, no matter what they do people will look at them skeptically.”
Teva said last week it agreed to buy NuPathe Inc. for $144 million, outbidding rival Endo Health Solutions Inc. to gain NuPathe’s migraine patch. The purchase will add to Teva’s lineup of drugs to treat central nervous system illnesses. “They’re taking the right steps to build their generic business,” Maris said. “This shows they’re going to be active and that their business development isn’t just sitting by the way side.”
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