JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 6, 2016--
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE:TEVA) today announced
that it has received a positive outcome through the variation procedure
to remove the pregnancy contraindication from the European label for
COPAXONE® (glatiramer acetate injection) 20 mg/mL. The
product was originally authorized through a decentralized procedure in
Europe.
The removal of the pregnancy contraindication follows a Positive
Variation Assessment Report issued by the United Kingdom's Medicines and
Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA; Reference Member State),
and agreed by all Concerned Member States (CMS) in Europe, that were
involved in the procedure. Granting of national approvals by all
involved EU Member States will happen in the near future. COPAXONE®
is indicated for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of
multiple sclerosis (RMS).
The removal of the contraindication is based on a comprehensive
examination of available prospective pregnancy cases with known outcome
and confirmed exposure to COPAXONE®. A supporting analysis
was also provided comparing data from Teva's Glatiramer Acetate (GA)
Pharmacovigilance Database which captured more than 8,000 pregnancies
over a period of more than 20 years.
The label now reads:
“Studies in animals have not shown reproductive toxicity (see section
5.3). Current data on pregnant women indicate no malformative or feto/
neonatal toxicity of COPAXONE®. To date,
no relevant epidemiological data are available. As a precautionary
measure, it is preferable to avoid the use of COPAXONE®
during pregnancy unless the benefit to the mother outweighs the risk to
the fetus.”
“This positive outcome is very encouraging,” said Rob Koremans, M.D.,
President & CEO, Teva Global Specialty Medicines. “While MS treatments
are not recommended during pregnancy, sometimes the benefit of treating
a pregnant patient with severe RMS symptoms outweighs the risks. The
update to the product information will provide physicians with helpful
information as they make individual treatment decisions with their
pregnant patients or patients who are trying to conceive with RMS.”
“As a company committed to people with MS, we’re pleased to have
presented this important data to the regulators and we believe that it
further underscores the established safety, efficacy and tolerability
profile of COPAXONE®, providing new options for physicians
and women of child bearing age” said Gianfranco Nazzi, Senior Vice
President, Specialty Medicines Europe, at Teva.
About Pregnancy and Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is more prevalent among women of childbearing
age compared with any other age group. MS treatments are generally
discontinued when a woman is trying to conceive, or in the case of an
unintended pregnancy, once the pregnancy is confirmed. However, for
pregnant women with severe or highly active MS, the benefit of treatment
may outweigh the unknown risk to the fetus, and this is a decision to be
made by the treating physician.
About COPAXONE®
COPAXONE® (glatiramer acetate injection) is indicated for the
treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. The
most common side effects of COPAXONE® are redness, pain,
swelling, itching, or a lump at the site of injection, flushing, rash,
shortness of breath, and chest pain. See additional important
information at: www.CopaxonePrescribingInformation.com.
For hardcopy releases, please see enclosed full prescribing information.
The COPAXONE® brand is approved in more than 50 countries
worldwide, including the United States, Russia, Canada, Mexico,
Australia, Israel, and all European countries.
Important Safety Information about COPAXONE®
Patients allergic to glatiramer acetate or mannitol should not take
COPAXONE®. Some patients report a short-term reaction right
after injecting COPAXONE®. This reaction can involve flushing
(feeling of warmth and/or redness), chest tightness or pain with heart
palpitations, anxiety, and trouble breathing. These symptoms generally
appear within minutes of an injection, last about 15 minutes, and go
away by themselves without further problems. During the postmarketing
period, there have been reports of patients with similar symptoms who
received emergency medical care. If symptoms become severe, patients
should call the emergency phone number in their area. Patients
should call their doctor right away if they develop hives, skin rash
with irritation, dizziness, sweating, chest pain, trouble breathing, or
severe pain at the injection site. If any of the above occurs, patients
should not give themselves any more injections until their doctor tells
them to begin again. Chest pain may occur either as part of the
immediate postinjection reaction or on its own. This pain should only
last a few minutes. Patients may experience more than one such episode,
usually beginning at least one month after starting treatment. Patients
should tell their doctor if they experience chest pain that lasts for a
long time or feels very intense. A permanent indentation under the skin
(lipoatrophy or, rarely, necrosis) at the injection site may occur, due
to local destruction of fat tissue. Patients should follow proper
injection technique and inform their doctor of any skin changes. The
most common side effects of COPAXONE® are redness, pain,
swelling, itching, or a lump at the site of injection, flushing, rash,
shortness of breath, and chest pain. These are not all of the possible
side effects of COPAXONE®. For a complete list, patients
should ask their doctor or pharmacist. Patients should tell their doctor
about any side effects they have while taking COPAXONE®.
Patients are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription
drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch
or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
About Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) is a leading
global pharmaceutical company that delivers high-quality,
patient-centric healthcare solutions used by millions of patients every
day. Headquartered in Israel, Teva is the world’s largest generic
medicines producer, leveraging its portfolio of more than 1,800
molecules to produce a wide range of generic products in nearly every
therapeutic area. In specialty medicines, Teva has a world-leading
position in innovative treatments for disorders of the central nervous
system, including pain, as well as a strong portfolio of respiratory
products. Teva integrates its generics and specialty capabilities in its
global research and development division to create new ways of
addressing unmet patient needs by combining drug development
capabilities with devices, services and technologies. Teva's net
revenues in 2015 amounted to $19.7 billion. For more information, visit www.tevapharm.com.
Teva's Safe Harbor Statement under the U. S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
This release contains forward-looking statements, which 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
develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical products;
competition for our specialty products, especially Copaxone® (which
faces competition from orally-administered alternatives and a generic
version); our ability to integrate Allergan plc’s worldwide generic
pharmaceuticals business (“Actavis Generics”) and to realize the
anticipated benefits of the acquisition (and the timing of realizing
such benefits); the fact that following the consummation of the Actavis
Generics acquisition, we are dependent to a much larger extent than
previously on our generic pharmaceutical business; potential
restrictions on our ability to engage in additional transactions or
incur additional indebtedness as a result of the substantial amount of
debt incurred to finance the Actavis Generics acquisition; the fact that
for a period of time following the Actavis Generics acquisition, we will
have significantly less cash on hand than previously, which could
adversely affect our ability to grow; the possibility of material fines,
penalties and other sanctions and other adverse consequences arising out
of our ongoing FCPA investigations and related matters; our ability to
achieve expected results from investments in our pipeline of specialty
and other products; our ability to identify and successfully bid for
suitable acquisition targets or licensing opportunities, or to
consummate and integrate acquisitions; the extent to which any
manufacturing or quality control problems damage our reputation for
quality production and require costly remediation; increased government
scrutiny in both the U.S. and Europe of our patent settlement
agreements; our exposure to currency fluctuations and restrictions as
well as credit risks; the effectiveness of our patents, confidentiality
agreements and other measures to protect the intellectual property
rights of our specialty medicines; the effects of reforms in healthcare
regulation and pharmaceutical pricing, reimbursement and coverage;
competition for our generic products, both from other pharmaceutical
companies and as a result of increased governmental pricing pressures;
governmental investigations into sales and marketing practices,
particularly for our specialty pharmaceutical products; adverse effects
of political or economic instability, major hostilities or acts of
terrorism on our significant worldwide operations; interruptions in our
supply chain or problems with internal or third-party information
technology systems that adversely affect our complex manufacturing
processes; significant disruptions of our information technology systems
or breaches of our data security; competition for our specialty
pharmaceutical businesses from companies with greater resources and
capabilities; the impact of continuing consolidation of our distributors
and customers; decreased opportunities to obtain U.S. market exclusivity
for significant new generic products; potential liability in the U.S.,
Europe and other markets for sales of generic products prior to a final
resolution of outstanding patent litigation; our potential exposure to
product liability claims that are not covered by insurance; any failure
to recruit or retain key personnel, or to attract additional executive
and managerial talent; any failures to comply with complex Medicare and
Medicaid reporting and payment obligations; significant impairment
charges relating to intangible assets, goodwill and property, plant and
equipment; the effects of increased leverage and our resulting reliance
on access to the capital markets; potentially significant increases in
tax liabilities; the effect on our overall effective tax rate of the
termination or expiration of governmental programs or tax benefits, or
of a change in our business; variations in patent laws that may
adversely affect our ability to manufacture our products in the most
efficient manner; environmental risks; and other factors that are
discussed in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December
31, 2015 and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "SEC"). Forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date on which they are made and we assume no obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements or other information, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161205005399/en/
Source: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
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(3) 926-7656
or
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