By Peter Loftus Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA, TEVA.TV) predicted its earnings and sales would rise in 2012, aided by the introduction of new generic drugs that could help its U.S. business recover from recent weakness. The Israel generic-drug company, which has diversified into brand-name and over-the-counter drugs, also said its board authorized the repurchase of up to $3 billion of its ordinary shares or American depositary shares from time to time, based on market conditions. The buyback would represent about 8% of Teva's shares outstanding. Teva's large U.S. generics business has suffered this year because it didn't have as many big product launches as in 2010. But Teva Chief Executive Shlomo Yanai said on a conference call with analysts that the business should improve in 2012. "We see 2012 as a pivotal year where we anticipate an unprecedented number of patent expirations and product launches, and while many of those product launches come with robust competition, we will compete effectively and increase our share in that market," Yanai said. Yanai said the new stock buyback program reflects the company's confidence in its outlook and its long-term value. He added that he doesn't envision any major acquisitions in 2012. Teva and other generic-drug makers are capitalizing on a wave of patent expirations for top-selling drugs. Eli Lilly & Co.'s (LLY) Zyprexa antipsychotic and Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) Lipitor cholesterol-lowering drug recently lost U.S. market exclusivity, and next year will bring the loss of patent protection for Merck & Co.'s (MRK) Singulair allergy and asthma drug. Teva expects one of its biggest generic-drug launches in 2012 to be a copycat version of Forest Laboratories Inc.'s (FRX) Lexapro antidepressant. Teva said it expected to earn $5.48 to $5.68 a share in 2012, excluding certain items such as legal settlements. In comparison, the mean estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters is $5.67 a share for 2012, up from a mean estimate of $4.95 for 2011. Teva expects revenue of $22 billion for 2012, in line with the Thomson estimate and up from a projected $18.3 billion for 2011. Teva predicted generic-product sales of $11.8 billion, including U.S. generic sales of about $5 billion. Teva said about $650 million of the sales would come from new-product launches. The company sees branded-drug sales of about $8.2 billion, including an estimated $3.8 billion for multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone, $550 million for leukemia drug Treanda, and women's-health-product sales of $525 million. Teva said Copaxone sales will likely peak in 2012, as it faces new competition from orally administered MS drugs. Teva recently bolstered its brand-name drug portfolio with the $6.8 billion acquisition of Cephalon Inc. In addition, Teva expanded into OTC drugs with a new joint venture with Procter & Gamble Co. (PG). Teva sees 2012 OTC sales of $1 billion. -By Peter Loftus, Dow Jones Newswires; +1-215-982-5581; peter.loftus@dowjones.com
