Teva's First-To-File Track Record Best Among Peers

Teva Pharma (TEVA) recently announced that its generic version of AbbVie's (ABBV) Niaspan would hit the U.S. market. The news is particularly noteworthy because Teva was the first-to-file, making the product eligible for 180 days of marketing exclusivity (a large windfall for the company).

Niaspan is a cholesterol drug used to reduce elevated TC, LDL-C (bad cholesterol), Apo B and TG levels, and to raise HDL-C cholesterol (the good variety). Niaspan had annual sales of more than $1.1 billion in the U.S., according to IMS data. Sales of Niaspan have advanced in the first half of fiscal year 2013, growing 4% year-over-year. Niaspan is one of the top 15 drug patent losses for 2013, and we continue to view Teva's first-to-file opportunities as the best among peers (blue bar below).

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Source: Actavis, Valuentum (January 2013)

Our Take

Teva's huge opportunity remains in its NTE (new therapeutic entity) pipeline, which the company believes is a multibillion-dollar opportunity. We're also encouraged by the odds of incremental revenue growth from the firm's niacin generic (and other opportunities in its best-in-class first-to-file pipeline). We continue to hold shares of Teva in the portfolio of our Best Ideas Newsletter.

Source: Teva's First-To-File Track Record Best Among Peers

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Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Additional disclosure: TEVA is included in the portfolio of our Best Ideas Newsletter.