SINGAPORE--Taiwan's Twi Pharmaceuticals canceled its U.S. distribution and marketing agreement with Israel's Teva Pharmaceuticals ($TEVA) for two generic drugs to have Twi's U.S. unit market them with its built-up sale network.
No reason was given for canceling the Teva agreement, which Twi suggested was mutual. But Twi noted its wholly owned subsidiary, Twi Pharmaceuticals USA, had put together its own sales and distribution team in the United States and would be ready to launch the drugs under the Twi label this year.
Teva has made stop-and-go efforts to build deals with Asian companies for distribution and marketing around the region and abroad in the past few years as a succession of top leadership shuffles slows momentum.
One of the drugs involved in the Teva deal was Twi's generic of a 625-mg dosage of megestrol. Twi already has first-to-file FDA approval for a 125-mg version for treating anorexia, cachexia or weight loss for AIDS patients. The branded version marketed by Par Pharmaceuticals as Megace ES. Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY) has approval for a 40-mg Megace.
The other drug, still under FDA review, is a lidocaine 5% patch, a generic of Teikoku Pharma USA's Lidoderm for treating post-herpetic neuralgia.
- here's the Twi release