JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) today announced the launch of a generic version of Letairis®1 (ambrisentan) Tablets, 5 mg and 10 mg, in the U.S.
Ambrisentan is an endothelin receptor antagonist indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) (WHO Group 1) to improve exercise ability and delay clinical worsening. In combination with tadalafil, ambrisentan is indicated to reduce the risks of disease progression and hospitalization for worsening PAH, and to improve exercise ability. For all female patients, ambrisentan tablets are only available through a restricted program called the Ambrisentan Risk Evaluation & Mitigation Strategy (REMS) due to the risk of fetal harm.
“The launch of ambrisentan tablets in the U.S. is an important addition to Teva’s growing generic portfolio of nearly 60 cardiovascular medicines,” said Brendan O’Grady, EVP and Head of North America Commercial. “Our ability to help treat this disease is a testament to our commitment to providing affordable, generic treatment options to people living with chronic, life-long conditions.”
With nearly 500 generic medicines available, Teva has the largest portfolio of FDA-approved generic products on the market and holds the leading position in first-to-file opportunities, with over 100 pending first-to-files in the U.S. Currently, one in eight generic prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. is filled with a Teva generic product.
Letairis® has annual sales of nearly $247 million in the U.S., according to IQVIA data as of February 2019.
About Ambrisentan Tablets
Ambrisentan tablets are indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) (WHO Group 1) to improve exercise ability and delay clinical worsening. In combination with tadalafil, ambrisentan tablets are indicated to reduce the risks of disease progression and hospitalization for worsening PAH, and to improve exercise ability. Studies establishing effectiveness included predominantly patients with WHO Functional Class II–III symptoms and etiologies of idiopathic or heritable PAH (60%) or PAH associated with connective tissue diseases (34%).
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
WARNING: Embryo-Fetal Toxicity. Do not administer ambrisentan to a pregnant female because it may cause fetal harm. Ambrisentan is very likely to produce serious birth defects if used by pregnant females, as this effect has been seen consistently when it is administered to animals. Exclude pregnancy before the initiation of treatment with ambrisentan. Females of reproductive potential must use acceptable methods of contraception during treatment with ambrisentan and for one month after treatment. Obtain monthly pregnancy tests during treatment and 1 month after discontinuation of treatment. Because of the risk of embryo-fetal toxicity, females can only receive ambrisentan through a restricted program called the Ambrisentan REMS program.
Ambrisentan is contraindicated in patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), including IPF patients with pulmonary hypertension (WHO Group 3). Peripheral edema is a known class effect of endothelin receptor antagonists, and is also a clinical consequence of PAH and worsening PAH. In the placebo-controlled studies, there was an increased incidence of peripheral edema in patients treated with doses of 5 or 10 mg ambrisentan compared to placebo. Peripheral edema/fluid retention is more common with ambrisentan plus tadalafil than with ambrisentan or tadalafil alone. Acute pulmonary edema during initiation of therapy with vasodilating agents, such as ambrisentan, could be the possibility of pulmonary veno-occlusive disease.
Decreased sperm counts have been observed in human and animal studies with another endothelin receptor antagonist and in animal fertility studies with ambrisentan. Ambrisentan may have an adverse effect on spermatogenesis. Decreases in hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit have followed administration of other endothelin receptor antagonists and were observed in clinical studies with ambrisentan.
In clinical trials, the most common adverse reactions for ambrisentan (>3% compared to placebo) were peripheral edema, nasal congestion, sinusitis, and flushing. When used in combination with tadalafil, most common adverse reactions (>5% compared with either monotherapy) were peripheral edema, headache, nasal congestion, cough, anemia, dyspepsia, and bronchitis.
For more information, please see accompanying Full Prescribing Information, including the Boxed Warning. A copy may be requested from Teva U.S. Medical Information at 888-TEVA-USA (888-838-2872), druginfo@tevapharm.com, or Teva’s Public Relations or Investor Relations contacts.
About Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) has been developing and producing medicines to improve people’s lives for more than a century. We are a global leader in generic and specialty medicines with a portfolio consisting of over 35,000 products in nearly every therapeutic area. Around 200 million people around the world take a Teva medicine every day, and are served by one of the largest and most complex supply chains in the pharmaceutical industry. Along with our established presence in generics, we have significant innovative research and operations supporting our growing portfolio of specialty and biopharmaceutical products. Learn more at www.tevapharm.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding the launch and potential benefits of the generic version of Letairis®, which are based on management’s current beliefs and expectations and are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that could cause our future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from that expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include risks relating to:
- The uncertainty of the commercial success of our generic version of Letairis®, including due to a potential launch of an authorized generic version;
- our ability to successfully compete in the marketplace, including: that we are substantially dependent on our generic products; competition for our specialty products, especially COPAXONE®, our leading medicine, which faces competition from existing and potential additional generic versions and orally-administered alternatives; the uncertainty of commercial success of AJOVY® or AUSTEDO®; competition from companies with greater resources and capabilities; efforts of pharmaceutical companies to limit the use of generics, including through legislation and regulations; consolidation of our customer base and commercial alliances among our customers; the increase in the number of competitors targeting generic opportunities and seeking U.S. market exclusivity for generic versions of significant products; price erosion relating to our products, both from competing products and increased regulation; delays in launches of new products and our ability to achieve expected results from investments in our product pipeline; our ability to take advantage of high-value opportunities; the difficulty and expense of obtaining licenses to proprietary technologies; and the effectiveness of our patents and other measures to protect our intellectual property rights;
- our substantial indebtedness, which may limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness, engage in additional transactions or make new investments, may result in a further downgrade of our credit ratings; and our inability to raise debt or borrow funds in amounts or on terms that are favorable to us;
- our business and operations in general, including: failure to effectively execute our restructuring plan announced in December 2017; uncertainties related to, and failure to achieve, the potential benefits and success of our new senior management team and organizational structure; harm to our pipeline of future products due to the ongoing review of our R&D programs; our ability to develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical products; potential additional adverse consequences following our resolution with the U.S. government of our FCPA investigation; compliance with sanctions and other trade control laws; manufacturing or quality control problems, which may damage our reputation for quality production and require costly remediation; interruptions in our supply chain; disruptions of our or third party information technology systems or breaches of our data security; the failure to recruit or retain key personnel; variations in intellectual property laws that may adversely affect our ability to manufacture our products; challenges associated with conducting business globally, including adverse effects of political or economic instability, major hostilities or terrorism; significant sales to a limited number of customers in our U.S. market; our ability to successfully bid for suitable acquisition targets or licensing opportunities, or to consummate and integrate acquisitions; and our prospects and opportunities for growth if we sell assets ;
- compliance, regulatory and litigation matters, including: costs and delays resulting from the extensive governmental regulation to which we are subject; the effects of reforms in healthcare regulation and reductions in pharmaceutical pricing, reimbursement and coverage; governmental investigations into selling and marketing practices; potential liability for patent infringement; product liability claims; increased government scrutiny of our patent settlement agreements; failure to comply with complex Medicare and Medicaid reporting and payment obligations; and environmental risks;
- other financial and economic risks, including: our exposure to currency fluctuations and restrictions as well as credit risks; potential impairments of our intangible assets; potential significant increases in tax liabilities; and the effect on our overall effective tax rate of the termination or expiration of governmental programs or tax benefits, or of a change in our business;
and other factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, including the sections thereof captioned "Risk Factors." Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or other information contained herein, whether as a result of new information.
1 Letairis® is a registered trademark of Gilead Sciences, Inc.