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Teva Launches Authorized Generic of Allergan's Minastrin

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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA - Free Report) recently launched an authorized generic version of Allergan plc’s (AGN) oral contraceptive, Minastrin 24 Fe1, in the U.S. Minastrin (norethindrone acetate, ethinyl estradiol tablets and ferrous fumarate tablets) 1 mg/20 mcg had annual sales of approximately $325.9 million in the U.S. as of Dec 2016, up 20.2% from $272.4 million in 2015.

We believe that the launch of Minastrin in the U.S. will further boost the performance of Teva’s generics business. With the addition of Minastrin, Teva now has more than 50 oral contraceptives in its portfolio. Currently, one in six generic prescriptions and one of every two oral contraceptive prescriptions in the U.S. contains a Teva generic product.

However, Teva’s shares have underperformed the Zacks classified Medical-Generics Drugs industry so far this year. The company’s shares lost 6.4%, while the industry registered an increase of 5.2%.



We note that Teva’s U.S. generics business generated revenues of $12 billion in 2016 compared with approximately $10.5 billion in 2015.

Teva is the world’s largest generic drug company, both in terms of total and new prescriptions. The company enjoys a leading position in the U.S., which is the world’s largest generic market. Teva enjoys a market share of 18% in the nation, post the Actavis deal in Aug 2016. In the global generics market, Teva commands 8% share. Following the Actavis generics acquisition, Teva has about 330 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) that are pending FDA approval, including 95 first-to-file (FTF) opportunities. Outside the U.S., the company has an estimated 1,400 regulatory filings pending in Europe and 600 in growth markets.

Teva is planning 1,000 generic launches globally in 2017 with more than $750 million in sales from the U.S. product launches.

We remind the investors that Teva is also working on strengthening its position in key emerging generic markets, where generics penetration is low and growth and profitability potential high. The company is also strengthening its presence in Japan, the world's second-largest pharmaceutical market. Teva has set up a business venture with Takeda to provide generic medicines in Japan.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

TEVA currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Addus HomeCare Corporation (ADUS - Free Report) , The Advisory Board Company and BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BCRX - Free Report) . Each of these stocks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Addus HomeCare’s earnings per share estimates increased from $1.38 to $1.41 for 2017 over the last 30 days. The company posted positive earnings surprises in two of the four trailing quarters, with an average beat of 10.14%.

The Advisory Board’s earnings per share estimates increased from $1.41 to $1.48 for 2017 over the last 30 days. The company posted positive earnings surprises in three of the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 33.41%.

BioCryst Pharma’s loss per share estimates narrowed from 88 cents to 66 cents for 2017 and from a loss of 93 cents to 70 cents over the last 30 days. The company posted positive earnings surprises in three of the four trailing quarters, with an average beat of 20%.

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