U.S.-listed shares of the Israel-based company rose 4.9% to $7 in
afternoon trading.
Teva, the world's largest generic drugmaker, is already selling the
product for adults, after getting U.S. approval for its copy of
EpiPen last August, following several years of delay.
Raymond James analyst Elliot Wilbur estimates the current U.S.
epinephrine market is worth about $700 million.
"Teva can capture about $290 million-$300 million in annual sales,
or roughly 45% market share," Wilbur said.
The launch of the EpiPen generic for children comes as welcome news
for the company, as analysts have raised concerns over its ability
to pay down its debt load, which was $28.7 billion at the end of
June.
The drugmaker has been struggling with falling prices of generics
and faces lawsuits that allege it helped fuel the U.S. opioid
addiction epidemic.
On Tuesday, peers Endo International Plc and Allergan Plc
tentatively agreed to pay $15 million to avoid going to trial in
October in a landmark case involving two Ohio counties accusing
certain drug manufacturers and distributors of fueling the opioid
crisis.
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Teva, which in May agreed to pay $85 million as a settlement to the
state of Oklahoma in another opioid-related lawsuit, is set to face
trial on Oct. 21.
Mylan also produces a generic version of its own life-saving EpiPen
allergy treatment, which like Teva's product is priced at about
$300.
There has been a shortage of EpiPens in the United States, Europe
and Canada, mainly due to a series of manufacturing delays at Pfizer
Inc's Meridian Medical unit that produces all EpiPens sold globally
at a single plant near St. Louis.
(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee and Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
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