Indian pharma may pose threat to Teva: report

JERUSALEM: Indian pharmaceutical company Natco, which launched a generic version of Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) recently, may pose a serious threat to leading Israeli company Teva pharmaceuticals, a media report has said.

It is the first time that Teva will be facing competition over its flagship product used to treat relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) and is the Israeli company's biggest earner, the daily Ha'aretz said.

However, the threat is unlikely to be immediate due to low sales in India and process of challenging Teva's patents. Global sales of the drug run at about $1.4 billion a year.

Natco, the first company to launch a generic version of the drug, has said that it will sell glatimir at 60 per cent below the price of the original drug. Its launch in the US market will be contingent on challenging Teva's patents in court, the report said.

Multiple sclerosis is an incurable degenerative condition of the nervous system. Copaxone, injected once a day, reduces the incidence of MS attacks.

Teva in 1996 launched Copaxone, the first non-interferon treatment for multiple sclerosis.