Teva Announces Wyeth Voids Standstill Agreement On Generic Protonix
Jerusalem, Israel, January 30, 2008 - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq:TEVA) announced today that the Company's standstill agreement with Wyeth/Altana regarding additional shipments by Teva of generic Protonix (Pantoprazole Sodium) has terminated as a result of Wyeth's launch of an authorized generic product.
Teva is currently involved in patent litigation with Wyeth/Altana concerning this product in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. A trial date has not been set.
In September 2007, the District Court denied a motion filed by Wyeth/Altana for a preliminary injunction related to Teva's Pantoprazole Tablets. In that decision, the Court found that Wyeth/Altana did not meet its burden of proving likelihood of success on the merits. Wyeth/Altana have appealed that decision.
About Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., headquartered in Israel, is among the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world and is the leading generic pharmaceutical company. The company develops, manufactures and markets generic and innovative human pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Over 80 percent of Teva's sales are in North America and Europe.
Safe Harbor Statement under the U. S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
This release contains forward-looking statements, which express the current beliefs and expectations of management. Such statements are based on management's current beliefs and expectations and involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause Teva's future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include risks relating to: whether and when the proposed acquisition of CoGenesys will be consummated, whether and when Teva will obtain HSR approval for the acquisition and any conditions that could be imposed in connection with such approval, Teva's ability to rapidly integrate CoGenesys's operations with its own operations, the diversion of management time on merger-related issues, and Teva and CoGenesys's ability to successfully develop and commercialize biopharmaceutical products, Teva's ability to accurately predict future market conditions including pricing and margins with regard to sales of the generic version of Protonix®, potential liability for sales of generic products prior to a final resolution of outstanding patent litigation, including that relating to the generic versions of Allegra®, Neurontin®, Lotrel® Famvir® and Protonix®, Teva's ability to successfully develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical products, the introduction of competing generic equivalents, the extent to which Teva may obtain U.S. market exclusivity for certain of its new generic products and regulatory changes that may prevent Teva from utilizing exclusivity periods, competition from brand-name companies that are under increased pressure to counter generic products, or competitors that seek to delay the introduction of generic products, the impact of consolidation of our distributors and customers, the effects of competition on our innovative products, especially Copaxone® sales, the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and pending legislation that could affect the pharmaceutical industry, the difficulty of predicting U.S. Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency and other regulatory authority approvals, the regulatory environment and changes in the health policies and structures of various countries, our ability to achieve expected results though our innovative R&D efforts, Teva's ability to successfully identify, consummate and integrate acquisitions, potential exposure to product liability claims to the extent not covered by insurance, dependence on the effectiveness of our patents and other protections for innovative products, significant operations worldwide that may be adversely affected by terrorism, political or economical instability or major hostilities, supply interruptions or delays that could result from the complex manufacturing of our products and our global supply chain, environmental risks, fluctuations in currency, exchange and interest rates, and other factors that are discussed in Teva's Annual Report on Form 20-F and its other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.