Teva Sees 15 Original Drug Applications From 2009-2015

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries said on Tuesday it could file 15 applications between 2009-2015 seeking approval for either new medicines, or for new uses or stronger dosages for its drugs.

At a meeting for analysts and investors in New York, the Israel-based company touted its stable of experimental medicines that include potential therapies for multiple sclerosis, lupus, Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

Teva is the world's largest maker of generic drugs, but the company held Tuesday's "Innovative R&D Day" to draw attention to the pipeline of drugs in its own research labs.

The meeting comes as questions about growth prospects and challenges in the generics market have hurt Teva's stock, which is down about 21 percent this year.

Shares were down 5 cents at $33.72 in late afternoon Nasdaq trading.

Chief executive officer Israel Makov told Reuters after the meeting that the company has had a "record year" in generics, including launches of generic versions of cholesterol treatments Zocor and Pravachol and anti-depressant Zoloft.

But, Makov said, Wall Street remains overly focused on Teva's U.S. generics business.

"We felt that the financial market is really focusing on one dimension of the company," Makov said. "It's a multi-dimensional company. We are much beyond generics and much beyond U.S."

Teva officials said its research focuses on three areas: multiple sclerosis and auto-immune diseases, neurology and oncology.

One key development project is a stronger dosage of Copaxone, its big-selling multiple sclerosis drug. Teva plans to seek approval for a 40 milligram version of the drug - currently available at 20 mg - in early 2009.

It also targeted an application for another experimental multiple sclerosis treatment, known as Laquinimod, in 2011.

Teva bolstered its product portfolio earlier this year when it won clearance for its Azilect drug as a therapy for Parkinson's disease.

The company is seeking to prove to regulators that Azilect can slow the progression of the disease, in addition to treating it. With such an approved use, Makov said the drug's annual sales could surpass $1 billion.

"We believe that the product has disease modification qualities, and we just have to prove it in a larger scale," Makov said.