Third-quarter global in-market sales of Teva’s Copaxone jumped 38 percent to $776 million, compared with the prior-year period, the company said Tuesday. The drugmaker’s net income for the three-month period totalled $649 million, which was slightly up from $631 million in the same quarter of 2008.

Pharmaceutical sales in North America rose 34 percent to $2.2 billion, while European revenue grew 15 percent to $787 million. The company said that sales were aided by the US launch of generic versions of Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo and Eloxatin in the third quarter, as well as by products which Teva gained from last year’s acquisition of Barr. The company recorded a 25-percent increase in total third-quarter revenue to $3.6 billion, which was slightly below analysts’ forecast.

CEO Shlomo Yanai said that the company’s quarterly cash flow “for the first time…crossed the billion dollar mark,” which Excellence Investments analyst Gilad Alper said gives Teva “a lot of ammunition when searching for the next acquisition target.” Alper added that “what the market is waiting for is some comments on strategic alternatives, acquisitions that will help to fuel growth after 2010,” noting that the below estimates quarterly revenue could be a sign of weakness in the US generic market due to “pricing pressure.”

Reference Articles

Teva’s third-quarter profit gains on Copaxone, Barr - (Bloomberg)

Teva Q3 profit higher as Copaxone sales jump - (Forbes)

Teva 3rd-quarter net up 2.9%, sales up 25% - (MarketWatch)

Teva reports third quarter 2009 results - (Teva)

Teva expects profit at high end of forecast (free preview) - (The Wall Street Journal)