Mylan to sell copycat of Teva MS drug

Here's a turnabout-is-fair-play story. Generics maker Teva Pharmaceuticals, known for its aggressive challenges to brand-name drugs, is getting challenged itself. The company has one very big branded product: Copaxone, a multiple sclerosis treatment. Well, Mylan Pharmaceuticals is copying it, with the help of India's NATCO Pharma. Mylan will market the generic version in the U.S., Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Canada; NATCO already sells it in India and Ukraine.

Copaxone is a big moneymaker for Teva, with $542 million in first-quarter sales alone, up 35 percent year-over-year. So it's no surprise that the company's shares faltered on the Mylan news. Copaxone isn't supposed to go off patent in the U.S. till 2014; we'll see how Teva strikes back.

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