Teva seals deal to market copy of AstraZeneca diabetes drug

Dive Brief:

•   Teva has reached an agreement with AstraZeneca allowing it to market a generic copy of the injectable diabetes drug Byetta by late next year, the Israeli drugmaker said Thursday.
• Under the deal, Teva will be able to commercialize Byetta in the U.S. starting on October 15, 2017, although a statement alluded to certain circumstances by which sales could begin earlier.
• While a generic competitor will crimp sales, AstraZeneca has already switched its focus to the extended release version of the GLP-1 drug, called Bydureon.

Dive Insight:

Byetta and Bydureon earned nearly $900 million for AstraZeneca last year, but the lions share of that revenue was driven by growing sales of Bydureon, which jumped 32% year over year.

Sales of Byetta dropped slightly by 3% in 2015, before plunging 31% in the first quarter (compared to the same period a year prior).

The settlement between Teva and AstraZeneca involved seven different patents on the drug and will give Teva the rights to both manufacture and sell Byetta in the U.S.

Recommended Reading

Philadelphia Business Journal: Teva, AstraZeneca settle patent dispute over multimillion-dollar drug

June 24, 2016

Source: http://www.biopharmadive.com/