Teva facing patent loss of Copaxone & loss of income!

For 2013, the Copaxone story could be more mixed. In addition to competition from Novartis'new oral treatment Gilenya, Copaxone has to deal with Biogen Idec's Tecfidera, another pill that has hit the ground at a sprint. After 17% growth in the first quarter of 2013, Copaxone sales grew by just 9% for the second quarter, when Tecfidera was launched.
.Whether that trend continues into the third quarter remains to be seen, of course.

It also remains to be seen--as Teva is happy to point out--whether a generic version of the drug will actually hit the market when the May 2014 patent expires. Teva says Copaxone is tough to copy, and it doesn't think a generics rival could move quickly enough to launch by then. But U.S.-based Mylan ($MYL), which first challenged the Copaxone patent, says it will be ready and waiting. Meanwhile, CEO Jeremy Levin isn't taking chances; the company's cost-cutting program just grew to $2 billion, with 5,000 jobs on the block.  READ MORE