Strong US sales and Ratiopharm drug boost Israeli generic drugs maker Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world’s biggest maker of generic drugs, posted higher quarterly net profit that beat expectations, boosted by strong US sales and its acquisition of Germany’s Ratiopharm.
Third quarter sales in North America rose 22 per cent to $2.72bn while generic sales in the US jumped 34 per cent to $1.63bn, Israel-based Teva said yesterday.
Teva attributed the increase to the exclusive launch of a generic version of Wyeth’s $2.75bn-a-year antidepressant Effexor XR in the quarter as well as strong sales of generic drugs launched in previous quarters.
The results also reflected strong sales of Copaxone, Teva’s leading branded treatment for multiple sclerosis, it said.
Quarterly earnings excluding one-time items rose 46 per cent to $1.30 a share while sales rose 20 per cent to $4.25bn. Exchange rates stripped out $122m in the quarter compared with a year ago though the effect on operating profit was negligible, Teva said.
Analysts on average expected Teva to earn $1.27 a share on sales of $4.37bn.