Teva Provides Update on Status of NeutrovalTM (G-CSF) Biologics License Application Submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Jerusalem, September 30, 2010 - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Complete Response Letter for the Biologic License Application (BLA) for NeutrovalTM (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor) for the reduction in the duration of severe neutropenia and the incidence of febrile neutropenia in patients treated with established myelosuppressive chemotherapy for cancer. The FDA issues Complete Response Letters to request additional information needed to complete the review of applications for product approval.
The Complete Response Letter related to the Neutroval application requested several items which Teva is reviewing and will work with the FDA to determine the appropriate next steps regarding this application. This letter does not require additional pre-marketing clinical trials to complete the review of the BLA.
About Neutropenia
Neutropenia is a hematological disorder characterized by an abnormally low number of neutrophils, the most important type of white blood cell in the blood. Neutrophils usually make up 50-70% of circulating white blood cells and serve as the primary defense against infections by destroying bacteria in the blood. Cancer or other diseases that damage bone marrow, as well as drugs that destroy neutrophils or damage bone marrow such as chemotherapy may cause Neutropenia.
About Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ:TEVA) is a leading global pharmaceutical company, committed to increasing access to high-quality healthcare by developing, producing and marketing affordable generic drugs as well as innovative and specialty pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Headquartered in Israel, Teva is the world's largest generic drug maker, with a global product portfolio of more than 1,250 molecules and a direct presence in approximately 60 countries. Teva's branded businesses focus on neurological, respiratory and women's health therapeutic areas as well as biologics. Teva's leading innovative product, Copaxone®, is the number one prescribed treatment for multiple sclerosis. Teva employs more than 40,000 people around the world and reached $13.9 billion in net sales in
2009.
Teva's 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 our 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: our ability to successfully develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical products, the introduction of competing generic equivalents, the extent to which we may obtain U.S. market exclusivity for certain of our new generic products and regulatory changes that may prevent us from utilizing exclusivity periods, potential liability for sales of generic products prior to a final resolution of outstanding patent litigation, including that relating to the generic versions of Neurontin®, Lotrel®, Protonix® and Yaz®, the extent to which any manufacturing or quality control problems damage our reputation for high quality production, the effects of competition on sales of our innovative products, especially Copaxone® (including potential generic and oral competition for Copaxone®), the impact of continuing consolidation of our distributors and customers, our ability to identify, consummate and successfully integrate acquisitions (including the acquisition of ratiopharm), interruptions in our supply chain or problems with our information technology systems that adversely affect our complex manufacturing processes, intense competition in our specialty pharmaceutical businesses, any failures to comply with the complex Medicare and Medicaid reporting and payment obligations, our exposure to currency fluctuations and restrictions as well as credit risks, the effects of reforms in healthcare regulation, adverse effects of political or economical instability, major hostilities or acts of terrorism on our significant worldwide operations, increased government scrutiny in both the U.S. and Europe of our agreements with brand companies, dependence on the effectiveness of our patents and other protections for innovative products, our ability to achieve expected results through our innovative R&D efforts, the difficulty of predicting U.S. Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency and other regulatory authority approvals, uncertainties surrounding the legislative and regulatory pathway for the registration and approval of biotechnology-based products, potentially significant impairments of intangible assets and goodwill, potential increases in tax liabilities resulting from challenges to our intercompany arrangements, our potential exposure to product liability claims to the extent not covered by insurance, the termination or expiration of governmental programs or tax benefits, current economic conditions, any failure to retain key personnel or to attract additional executive and managerial talent, environmental risks and other factors that are discussed in this report and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Teva North America
1090 Horsham Rd
North Wales, PA 19454Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a US subsidiary of Novartis AG, reaches settlement agreement with US Attorney's Office