Teva growth tops rivals in U.S. generics

By Lewis Krauskopf and Lisa Richwine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s (TEVA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(TEVA.TA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) U.S. generics business is growing ahead of rivals and the drugmaker hopes to broaden and maintain its market leadership, a top executive said on Tuesday.

Analysts have worried about Teva's prospects next year compared to 2006, when it has enjoyed exclusive rights to generic versions of several blockbuster drugs that have lost patent protection.

However, Teva has seen prescriptions grow by 16 percent over about the past year, excluding the benefit of those generics for which it has exclusive rights, said George Barrett, president and chief operating officer for Teva Pharmaceuticals North America.

"The market's been growing about 11 percent in prescription growth," Barrett told the Reuters Health Summit in New York. "I still think we will continue to outgrow the market."

Earlier Tuesday, Teva posted strong third-quarter profit growth, but said 2007 earnings growth would be challenging and its shares fell 1.5 percent.

While conceding that difficult comparison between 2006 and 2007, Barrett said, "the underlying business in U.S. generics looks healthy."

Israel-based Teva leads the U.S. market at about 19-20 percent of generic prescriptions. But Barrett said the market is "too fragmented" and projected that the leader could have as much as 40 percent within five years.

"We absolutely believe that the U.S. market is a market that we want to be market leader in," Barrett said. "We are today."  Continued...