Teva Pharmaceutical Launches First Generic Formulation of Gilead’s Blockbuster Antiretroviral Truvada
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA) announced this morning the exclusive US launch of Viread®1 (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) tablets 300 mg, a generic version of Gilead Sciences' (NASDAQ:GILD) Viread tablets.
Truvada was initially approved by FDA in 2004 to treat HIV in combination with other antiretroviral drugs, and later gained approval as the first drug to prevent sexually transmitted HIV-1 infection in uninfected adults in 2012.
Viread®1 received an FDA approval for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) in June, granting Teva the right to produce generic Truvada for the combination tablet’s use as a component of an HIV treatment regimen and as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
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Teva's EVP of North America Commercial Brendan O’Grady commented, "Currently, 1.1 million people in the U.S are living with HIV2 and an estimated 850,000 to 2.2 million have chronic hepatitis B virus infection [...] The launch of generic Viread is an important addition to our portfolio; but, more importantly, it brings an effective, affordable treatment option to these patients in an area that’s lacking. With nearly 600 generic medicines available, Teva has the largest portfolio of FDA-approved generic products on the market and holds the leading position in first-to-file opportunities, with over 100 pending first-to-files in the U.S. Currently, one in seven generic prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. is filled with a Teva generic product. Viread® had annual sales of approximately $762 million in the U.S., according to IMS data as of October 2017.
Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical are rising nearly 7% to $18.46 in Friday's trading session. TEVA has a 1-year high of $38.31 and a 1-year low of $10.85. The stock's 50-day moving average is $13.79 and its 200-day moving average is $20.82.
On the ratings front, Teva stock has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. In a report released today, Goldman Sachs analyst Jami Rubin upgraded TEVA to Buy, with a price target of $20, which implies an upside of 16% from current levels. Separately, yesterday, Raymond James' Elliot Wilbur assigned a Hold rating to the stock.
According to TipRanks.com, which ranks over 7,500 financial analysts and bloggers to gauge the performance of their past recommendations, Jami Rubin and Elliot Wilbur have a yearly average return of 13.8% and 10.5% respectively. Rubin has a success rate of 68% and is ranked #618 out of 4717 analysts, while Wilbur has a success rate of 59% and is ranked #569.
Sentiment on the street is mostly neutral on TEVA stock. Out of 18 analysts who cover the stock, 11 suggest a Hold rating, 4 suggest a Sell and 3 recommend to Buy the stock. The 12-month average price target assigned to the stock is $15.29, which implies a downside of 12% from current levels.
