Driven by copycat versions of Bristol Myers Squibb’s Revlimid and Novo Nordisk’s Victoza, Teva’s generics business was again a top-performer in the third quarter, with U.S. sales growing 30% and bringing in $1.1 billion in sales.
Teva Pharmaceuticals released its third-quarter financial results on Wednesday touting strong year-over-year growth and raising its full-year revenue guidance, driven by continued strong demand for its generic drugs.
The company’s revenue surged 13% in Q3 to bring in $4.3 billion—which surpassed the analyst consensus of $4.14 billion. Teva’s Q3 beat was heavily driven by the U.S. sales of its generic products, which hit $1.1 billion in sales, representing 30% growth from the same period last year. In Europe, Teva recorded 10% year-on-year growth for its copycat drugs.
Teva’s generic versions of Bristol Myers Squibb’s Revlimid and Novo Nordisk’s Victoza were strong contributors to the company’s top line, as was its generic equivalent to Viatris’ EpiPen.
CEO Richard Francis in Wednesday’s earnings call credited its Q3 performance to Teva’s “Pivot to Growth” initiative which it launched in May 2023 “to get Teva back to growth.” The company in Q3 renewed its focus on four main strategic pillars—"deliver on our growth engines, step up innovation, create a sustainable generics powerhouse and focus the business,” according to Francis.
Aside from its generics and biosimilars business, Francis pointed to the “strong performance [of] our innovative portfolio,” including the extended-release oral drug Austedo—indicated for tardive dyskinesia and Huntington’s disease chorea—which grew 28% year-over-year to hit $435 in Q3 sales.
Teva’s Ajovy, approved for the preventive treatment of migraine, generated 58 million in the quarter, a 4% increase from the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, the schizophrenia drug Uzedy brought in $35 million in Q3.
Encouraged by its strong Q3 performance, Teva on Wednesday raised its full-year outlook. The company now expects $16.1 billion to $16.5 billion this year, compared to its July 2024 forecast of a range between $16 billion to $16.4 billion. At the start of the year, Teva was expecting 2024 revenues between $15.7 billion to $16.3 billion.
Projected diluted earnings per share was narrowed to $2.40 to $2.50, versus its most recent guidance of $2.30 to $2.50.
To deliver on its earnings goals—and to ensure sustainable growth in the coming years—Teva is lining up several other copycat products with strong market potential. In April 2024, the company won the FDA’s approval for its Alvotech-partnered biosimilar to Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster biologic Stelara.
Dubbed Selarsdi, Teva and Alvotech’s biosimilar is also indicated for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and active psoriatic arthritis in children and adults—but has not yet been approved for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Per a June 2023 settlement with J&J, Selarsdi will be able to enter the U.S. market no later than Feb. 21, 2025.
In February 2024, Teva and Alvotech also secured the FDA’s approval for their Humira biosimilar Simlandi, which became the first high-concentration, citrate-free and interchangeable copycat to AbbVie’s blockbuster.
