What Tiger Woods and Teva Pharmaceuticals Have in Common

6/17 - "Quoted from a recent interview on the WSJ’s Health Blog (link here), the Novartis CEO basically pulled a Rocco Mediate, Tiger’s 45 year old , nice-as-anything nemesis in the playoffs who just wouldn’t quit. Addressing a great performance by Teva (TEVA), the #1 generic drug manufacturer globally compared to Novartis’s Sandoz unit at #2, Novartis CEO, a la Rocco, said, “Teva is better than we are, and that’s hard to take.”

"According to the blog, the Novartis CEO continued with more praise for Teva. “The Israeli generics shop is bigger, with more vertical integration, and has been outpacing Novartis’s generic unit on key measures of success in the business, Vasella said."

"Katsman covered some interesting developments today in the Teva story, as Azilect, which is the brand name for rasagiline, has made some strong progress in treating Parkinson’s. According to the company via Haaretz, this new “drug can actually slow the disease’s progression, which can’t be said for any other therapy for the so-far incurable nervous system condition.”

So, in addition to the strongest generic business in the market, Teva is moving forward with a strong pipeline in its branded portfolio — something even the top pharmaceutical firms are struggling with."