Despite the criticism of pharmaceutical companies for raising the prices of drugs in the US in 2015, 2016 opened with a series of new price rises. Many pharmaceutical companies raise the price of important drugs at the beginning of the year, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) is part of the trend.
According to data published by the UBS investment bank, Teva raises its prices for 30 of the drugs it markets by 4%-9.9%. Among other things, the price of 40-mg Copaxone rose 7.9%, while the price of 20-mg Copaxone was not raised.
Copaxone, used to treat multiple sclerosis, is Teva's flagship drug. The 20-mg version of the drug already has generic competition. The double dose, which as a patent-protected drug has no generic competition, accounts for 70% of new Copaxone prescriptions.
UBS Securities analyst Mark Goodman estimated that sales of 40-mg Copaxone totaled $625 million in 2015. Double-dose Copaxone was launched two years ago, and this is the second price hike for the drug, following a similar rise in 2015.
Another of Teva's price hikes was for Azilect, used to treat Parkinson's Disease (9.9%), and in a ProAir HFA inhaler to prevent and treat blockage of the windpipe and in a QVAR inhaler to treat asthma (6% each). Teva raised the prices for Nuvigil and Provigil for treating sleep disorders by 9.8% and 5%, respectively. The price of the Qnasl spray rose by 9.9%, following a 17.1% rise in June 2015.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 10, 2016
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