Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has posted a loss of $79 million for the third quarter, compared with net income of $916 million in the like, year-earlier period, hit by charges of over $1.1 billion.

Specifically, the Israeli drugmaker said the charges include setting aside $670 million relating to pending patent litigation concerning its generic version of the antiulcerant Protonix (pantoprazole). A further charge of $481 million is a result of an on-going review of Teva's R&D portfolio, eg the firm has decided to return obatoclax for the treatment of small cell lung cancer to pre-clinical development, while initial data on CEP-37247, for the treatment of sciatica, "indicate a low probability of success".

Sales growth was healthy, up 14% to $4.97 billion, while turnover climbed 33% in the USA to $2.60 billion, helped by the inclusion of products acquired through the Cephalon buy. Global sales of the sleep disorder drug Nuvigil (armodafinil) edged up 2% to $94 million, while the cancer treatment Treanda (bendamustine) contributed $160 million, up 3%.

The US business also benefited from the launch of nine new generics, such as a copy of Takeda's diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone) and continued strong sales of its version of Forest's antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram). In Europe, revenues were down 13% to $798 million, while turnover in the rest of the world  fell 11% to $620 million.

The Israeli company’s branded business was again dominated by Copaxone (glatiramer acetate). The treatment brought in $1.05 billion, an increase of 13%, due in part to Teva getting back distribution and marketing rights from Sanofi in Europe.

Sales of Azilect (rasagiline) for Parkinson’s disease reached $77 million, up 8%. Global respiratory revenues were down 4% at $201 million, while Teva's women's health business had turnover of $96 million, down 22%. Over-the-counter revenues were up 38% to $252 million.