Teva Reaches Agreement With Georgia to Settle the State’s Price Fixing Claims

Rhea-AI Summary

Teva Pharmaceuticals has reached a settlement with the Attorney General of Georgia, agreeing to pay $3.346 million to resolve price-fixing claims. This settlement will lead to the dismissal of all claims against Teva and its affiliates once paid. Teva has previously settled similar litigation with Mississippi and Louisiana. The company continues to deny the allegations but remains committed to compliance and robust antitrust training. Teva aims to focus on delivering quality medicines while addressing legacy litigation matters, including discussions with other states regarding settlements.

Positive

• Settlement amount of $3.346 million is relatively modest compared to potential claims.
• Teva is actively resolving legacy litigation, allowing management to focus on core business operations.

Negative

• Ongoing scrutiny and litigation regarding price-fixing can impact brand reputation.
• Continued legal challenges related to pricing may divert resources and management attention away from business growth.

TEL AVIV, Israel & PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Teva Pharmaceuticals, a U.S. affiliate of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA), has reached an agreement with the Attorney General (AG) of Georgia to settle the state’s price-fixing claims against Teva. Teva will pay the state $3.346 million as part of the settlement, and the state will dismiss all of its claims against Teva and its affiliates once payment has been made.

Teva is committed to doing business the right way, in compliance with all applicable laws. Consistent with that commitment, Teva has also agreed, as part of its settlement with Georgia, to maintain its robust antitrust training and compliance efforts throughout the United States.

This is the third settlement of the price-fixing litigation that Teva has reached to date, having previously settled with Mississippi and Louisiana. (Alabama also recently voluntarily dismissed its claims against all defendants in the litigation, including Teva.) Teva is pleased to put these claims behind us, and we believe the modest settlement amount—in each of the three settlements to date—reflects our position on the allegations against us, which we continue to deny. We remain focused on delivering high-quality medicines to the patients around the world who need them, while also working cooperatively with state regulators to resolve legacy litigation matters in the United States, including these cases as well as the opioids cases. We are discussing settlements of the price-fixing litigation with additional states in an effort to continue replicating these results.

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 3,500 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, 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:

• compliance, regulatory and litigation matters, including: failure to comply with complex legal and regulatory environments; scrutiny from competition and pricing authorities around the world, including our ability to successfully defend against the U.S. Department of Justice criminal charges of Sherman Act violations; increased legal and regulatory action in connection with public concern over the abuse of opioid medications and our ability to reach a final resolution of the remaining opioid-related litigation; potential liability for patent infringement; product liability claims; failure to comply with complex Medicare and Medicaid reporting and payment obligations; compliance with anti-corruption sanctions and trade control laws; environmental risks; and the impact of ESG issues;
• our ability to successfully compete in the marketplace, including: that we are substantially dependent on our generic products; consolidation of our customer base and commercial alliances among our customers; delays in launches of new generic products; the increase in the number of competitors targeting generic opportunities and seeking U.S. market exclusivity for generic versions of significant products; our ability to develop and commercialize biopharmaceutical products; competition for our specialty products, including AUSTEDO^®, AJOVY^® and COPAXONE^®; our ability to achieve expected results from investments in our product pipeline; our ability to develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical products; 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: uncertainty regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the governmental and societal responses thereto; our ability to successfully execute and maintain the activities and efforts related to the measures we have taken or may take in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated costs therewith; effectiveness of our optimization efforts; our ability to attract, hire and retain highly skilled personnel; manufacturing or quality control problems; interruptions in our supply chain; disruptions of information technology systems; breaches of our data security; variations in intellectual property laws; challenges associated with conducting business globally, including political or economic instability, major hostilities or terrorism; costs and delays resulting from the extensive pharmaceutical regulation to which we are subject or delays in governmental processing time due to travel and work restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic;
• the effects of reforms in healthcare regulation and reductions in pharmaceutical pricing, reimbursement and coverage; significant sales to a limited number of customers; 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;
• 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 (including as a result of potential tax reform in the United States); 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 this press release, in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter of 2022, and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, including in the sections captioned "Risk Factors” and “Forward Looking Statements.” 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, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005821/en/

IR:

United States

Ran Meir (267) 468-4475

Israel

Yael Ashman 972 (3) 914-8262

PR:

United States

Kelley Dougherty (973) 658-0237

Israel

Eden Klein +972-50-4019959

Source: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited

FAQ

What is the recent settlement amount Teva Pharmaceutical agreed to pay in Georgia?

Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay $3.346 million to settle price-fixing claims in Georgia.

Has Teva Pharmaceuticals settled similar price-fixing claims in other states?

Yes, Teva has previously settled claims with Mississippi and Louisiana.

What compliance measures is Teva Pharmaceuticals undertaking as part of the Georgia settlement?

Teva has agreed to maintain robust antitrust training and compliance efforts throughout the United States.

What are the implications of the Georgia settlement for Teva's operations?

The settlement allows Teva to focus more on delivering quality medicines while resolving legacy litigation.

How does the settlement affect Teva's stock symbol TEVA?

The settlement may have a neutral to positive impact on TEVA's stock by reducing litigation uncertainties.