U.S. sales, Ratiopharm spark Teva Q3 earnings

TEL AVIV, Israel Two months of Ratiopharm sales on the books and strong growth in the United States helped Teva beat third-quarter profit estimates, with sales up 20% to $4.25 billion, from $3.55 billion during the same period one year ago.

Sales in the United States increased 34% to $1.63 billion. The growth was sparked by the exclusive generic launch of Wyeth's Effexor XR, the company noted, as well as strong sales of Copaxone, Teva's branded multiple sclerosis treatment, which enjoys a 30% share of that market. Global sales of Copaxone rose 4% to $808 million during the period. In the United States, Copaxone sales rose 9%.

Net earnings rose 62%, reaching $1.05 billion during the third quarter.

During the quarter, Teva completed its 3.7 billion euro acquisition of Ratiopharm.