Reports that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) is moving closer to agreeing a global compensation package in the US for allegedly fueling the opioid crisis have seen the Israeli company's share price surge on Wall Street. Yesterday the share price climbed 11.80% to $7.77, giving a market cap of $8.976 billion, and it was up a further 0.77% in aftermarket trading at $7.83.
"Reuters" reported last night that a federal judge had summoned Teva CEO Kare Shultz and the CEOs of 3 drug distribution companies to discuss some 2,600 lawsuits around the US over their role in alleged aggressive marketing of opioid painkillers, which caused an epidemic of addiction and many fatalities.
US District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland, Ohio will reportedly talk to Schultz and the CEOs of pharmaceutical distributors McKesson Corp, Cardinal Health Inc, and AmerisourceBergen Corp. about a global settlement for all these cases. "Reuters" reports that Judge Polster has been pushing for a deal that could "do something meaningful to abate this crisis."
Earlier this week there were reports that all these companies and Johnson & Johnson would contribute about $50 billion in free drugs and distribution in a global settlement. Teva would contribute an estimated $15 billion in free pharmaceuticals including a generic version of Narcan, a nasal spray to treat opioid addiction that was approved by the FDA in April.
Following the reports IBI Investment House pharma analyst Steven Tepper explained that $15 billion in free generic drugs according to the retail price list would only cost Teva $2-4 billion in terms of manufacturing costs and taking into account tax benefits.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 18, 2019
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