Obama and the Generic Drug Industry (TEVA)

Generic Drugs now have great support and could benefit from Obama and the Democrats running the show next year, thus Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:TEVA) deserves your attention.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd plans to close the deal on their pending purchase of Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc's (BRL.N) later this year.

Here's an interview yesterday with Barr's CEO:

Teva's plan to buy Barr will give the Israel-based Teva sufficient funds to complete the proposed $7.46 billion acquisition of its smaller U.S. rival.

Teva is reporting Q3 earnings tomorrow, via Bloomberg.com:
Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the world's biggest maker of generic drugs, will probably say this week that third-quarter earnings rose 15 percent on sales of new products and its proprietary Copaxone drug.

Teva, which is also the biggest Tel Aviv Stock Exchange- traded company by market value, will post adjusted net income of $604 million, or 71 cents a share, up from $525 million, or 64 cents, a year earlier, according to the median estimate of 12 analysts polled by Bloomberg.

Revenue will climb about 24 percent to $2.93 billion from $2.37 billion in the same period in 2007, according to the survey. Teva is paying $7.5 billion for Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. of the U.S. to expand in eastern Europe and gain contraceptives such as Plan B, the ``morning-after pill.'' Teva and Barr report results on Nov. 6.

``U.S. generic sales grew more slowly than in Europe and the rest of the world, and there may even have been some erosion in older generics,'' Noa Weisberg, an analyst at Israel Brokerage & Investments in Tel Aviv, said by phone. ``But new generics are the name of the game, and Teva has most of the biggest selling products. Together with Barr, its pipeline will be even bigger.''

Teva said Oct. 27 that it expects to complete takeover of Barr, of Montvale, New Jersey, by the end of this year. The U.S. now accounts for about 57 percent of sales for Teva, which is based in Petah Tikva, Israel.

Sales of Copaxone, the company's multiple sclerosis treatment, probably grew 28 percent in the U.S., said Weisberg, who rates the stock a ``buy'' and estimates its U.S.-traded shares will reach $55 in the next 12 months.

Since it ended a joint marketing agreement with Sanofi- Aventis SA in the first quarter, Teva has been capturing 100 percent of all profit on Copaxone sales instead of sharing it equally with the French company, she said.

Best of luck to all of you holding positions in TEVA before the call, and long-term under the upcoming U.S. Administration, TEVA may be an investment worth taking a chance on.

Discliamer: No positions in any of the securities mentioned in this publication.