So much for the $114 million Teva shelled out to get its hands on Zecuity developer NuPathe. After less than a year on the market, the Israeli drugmaker is pulling the migraine patch.
Monday, the company announced that it would stop sales, marketing and distribution of the product on post-marketing reports of burning and scarring at the patch application site. Teva has also launched a recall of the med from pharmacies.
The discontinuation follows an FDA alert on the drug from earlier this month that cited “severe redness, pain, skin discoloration, blistering, and cracked skin.”
“At Teva, the wellbeing of people using our products is always the first priority,” Teva CEO of global specialty meds Rob Koremans said in a statement, noting that the company would “continue our investigation into the root cause of these adverse skin reactions” and work closely with regulators to resolve any outstanding questions.
It’s a blow to the Petah Tikva-based generics giant, which nabbed NuPathe in 2014 in its quest to bulk up on the specialty side before Copaxone copies hit. And while that process took longer than industry-watchers expected--allowing Teva to switch the majority of patients over to a long-lasting, patent-protected formulation of its multiple sclerosis superstar--the therapy still took a hit last year, recording a 14% decline to $960 million and coming in shy of the billion-dollar tally analysts expected.
Meanwhile, Teva is also working hard to close the $40-billion deal for Allergan’s generics unit that it expects to solidify its No. 1 position in the generics space. After coming to terms on the acquisition last summer, the companies have been making divestments to satisfy antitrust regulators; Monday, India’s Dr. Reddy’s said it had agreed to pick up 8 drugs from Teva--including one already-marketed treatment--for $350 million.
- read Teva's release
Special Report: Top 20 generics companies by 2014 revenue - Teva
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