Topic: How To Invest

Hi Mr. McKeough: I would appreciate your thoughts on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. ADRs, $54.53, symbol TEVA on Nasdaq (ADRs outstanding: 936.0 million; Market cap: $51.0 billion; www.tevapharm.com), is the world’s largest generic drug maker. Israel-based Teva makes and sells more than 500 generic drugs in North America, which accounts for 64% of its sales. Europe provides 24% of Teva’s sales, and the rest of the world accounts for 12%. Teva also develops and markets some of its own name-brand drugs, including Copaxone, the second-biggest selling multiple-sclerosis drug, and Azilect, a Parkinson’s drug. Teva is one of the most successful firms in the competitive generic-drug business. It regularly wins “first-to-file” applications on drugs whose U.S. patents are expiring. Approval of a first-to-file application gives Teva exclusive marketing rights for the generic version of a drug for six months. Right now, the company has 83 first-to-file applications before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In all, the branded versions of these drugs have annual sales of over $55 billion. Teva continues to…