Teva’s Patent Loss Marks Second Blow in Weeks as New Year Begins
- Novartis, Momenta could enter market this year, analyst says
- Two Copaxone copies could erase up to $1.2 billion in sales
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The new year is less than a month old, but already the bad news is piling up for investors in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
The latest blow is a U.S. court ruling invalidating four patents on its top seller, the multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone. The ruling, issued late on Monday, may open the door to generic competition for a drug that generates a fifth of Teva’s $20 billion in annual sales. Shares of Teva, Israel’s largest company, dropped in New York trading on Tuesday, extending an almost 50 percent rout in the stock since the end of 2015.