Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) CFO Eyal Desheh is not worried by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for generic versions of deep vein thrombosis treatment Lovenox, made by Sanofi Aventis SA (NYSE: SNY; Euronext: SNA), to Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: MNTA) and Sandoz. These raised concerns among investors that FDA will take similar action against Teva's multiple sclerosis drug, Copaxone. Teva's share price was down 6.5% on the TASE today after falling 8.5% on Nasdaq on Friday.

Desheh told "Globes," I don't think these things are significant. Copaxone is a much more complex product than Lovenox because of the randomness of its molecules. It is a product that is very difficult to copy and get approval for without clinical trials. That is our belief and not something that is 100% certain but it is based on our know-how and the development of generic products and we understand a thing or two about this."

Teva's revenue from Copaxone climbed to $2.8 billion in 2009.

Desheh insisted he was not alarmed by the sharp falls of Teva's share price since Friday. He said, "I've lived for many years in this environment to know that it is impossible to know what to expect from the market's behavior, and that's the same for both directions.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 25, 2010

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