Analysts Bullish on Teva Despite Supreme Court Copaxone Hearing

Market analysts were voicing confidence in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries on Tuesday despite a pending U.S. Supreme Court hearing on its flagship multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone, Globes reported.

The Court’s decision to decline Teva’s request to block a potential launch of generic Copaxone pending the outcome of the hearing on the patent later this year has not caused Citi Research to reconsider its upbeat assessment of the drug company.

“Notwithstanding the Court’s decision to effectively allow an ‘at-risk’ launch of generic Copaxone as of the end of May 2014 (if approved), our bullish stance remains unchanged, and we view the potential impact of an at-risk launch as minimal pending the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing (expected in the Feb-June 2015 time frame). Teva remains our preferred name in the U.S. spec pharma/generics universe and is on Citi’s U.S. Focus List,” the Citi analysts write.

Barclays Capital was similarly undeterred by the Supreme Court decision, saying, “Teva can take solace in Chief Justice Roberts’ comment that Teva had demonstrated ‘fair prospect of success on the merits’ in the case, which could extend Copaxone’s patent protection to September 2015.” It adds, “However, we think it is unlikely that the generics will launch at risk if approved by the FDA, which is by no means a certainty.”

This article appeared in print on page 14 of the April 24th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.