Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Can I have your view on Teva Pharmaceutical? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. ADRs, $38.45, symbol TEVA on Nasdaq (ADRs outstanding: 941.0 million; Market cap: $36.2 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 50% of its sales. Europe provides 31% of Teva’s sales and the rest of the world accounts for 19%. Teva also develops and markets some of its own name-brand drugs, including Copaxone, the second-highest-selling multiple-sclerosis drug, and Azilect, a Parkinson’s drug. Together, these two drugs accounted for 23% of the company’s 2010 sales. 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 75 first-to-file applications before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In all, the branded versions…