The closure of InterPharm Laboratories has instigated an assault by its competitors, led by Biogen Idec's (Nasdaq:BIIB) Israeli representative, Medison Pharma. Medison Pharma CEO Meir Jacobson said, "I'm an interested party, but analysts in the US also agree that the expected entry of Biogen's Antegren, which is due to receive marketing approval in November, was one of the key reasons for the deteriorating position of our competitors that produce treatments for multiple sclerosis."
Jacobson says Antegen was also one of the reasons for the recent decline in the share price of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq:TEVA; TASE:TEVA), the manufacturer of Copaxone. But Teva has many other drugs, including a generic version of Serono's (NYSE:SRA; SWX:SEO) Rebif.
Jacobson said, "The decision by Serono's management to close its plant in Israel is completely unrelated to it being an obsolescent plant, or recent developments and changes in biotechnology production practices, as its announcement in Switzerland claims."
Serono informed InterPharm's employees it had sufficient capacity in the medium term without the establishment of a new plant in Ness Ziona, planned for the same site.
Jacobson said, "If they had to continue large-scale production, and not confine Rebif production to Switzerland only, they could have continued production at the existing plant in Israel, which meets all international standards."
However, Jacobson added, "Since Rebif accounts for over half of Serono's sales, and the blow Serono comes from the US too, it was forced to reduce operations. We believe that Serono decided to close its Israeli plant because of pending significant developments in the multiple sclerosis market with the entry of Antegren by the end of the year. All studies indicate that Antegren will be a breakthrough in the treatment of multiple sclerosis thanks to its effectiveness and the way it is used."
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on September 21, 2004