JERUSALEM and MONTVALE, N.J., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Teva
Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA) and Barr Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. (NYSE: BRL) announced today that, as expected, each party has received
a request for additional information (commonly referred to as a "second
request") from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in connection with
Teva's pending acquisition of Barr. The parties have been cooperating with
the FTC staff since shortly after the announcement of the transaction and
intend to continue to cooperate with the FTC to obtain HSR clearance as
promptly as possible.
The effect of the second request is to extend the Hart-Scott-Rodino
Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR) waiting period until thirty days
after the parties have substantially complied with the request, unless that
period is terminated sooner by the FTC. The companies continue to expect
that the transaction will close in late 2008, following completion of the
HSR clearance process, the obtaining of the other required antitrust
approvals and the satisfaction of all other closing conditions contained in
the merger agreement between the parties, including the approval of Barr
stockholders.
About Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., headquartered in Israel, is among
the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world and is the world's leading
generic pharmaceutical company. The Company develops, manufactures and
markets generic and innovative human pharmaceuticals and active
pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as animal health pharmaceutical
products. Over 80 percent of Teva's sales are in North America and Western
Europe.
About Barr
Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global specialty pharmaceutical company
that operates in more than 30 countries worldwide and is engaged in the
development, manufacture and marketing of generic and proprietary
pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
A holding company, Barr operates through its principal subsidiaries: Barr
Laboratories, Inc., Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and PLIVA d.d. and its
subsidiaries. The Barr Group of companies markets more than 120 generic and
27 proprietary products in the U.S. and approximately 1,025 products
globally outside of the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.barrlabs.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the U. S. Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995: This release contains forward-looking statements, which
express the current beliefs and expectations of management. Such statements
are based on management's current beliefs and expectations and involve a
number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause Teva
and Barr's future results, performance or achievements to differ materially
from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause or
contribute to such differences include risks relating to: whether and when
the proposed acquisition will be consummated and the terms of any
conditions imposed in connection with such closing, Teva's ability to
rapidly integrate Barr's operations and achieve expected synergies,
diversion of management time on merger-related issues, Teva and Barr's
ability to successfully develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical
products, the introduction of competing generic equivalents, the extent to
which Teva or Barr may obtain U.S. market exclusivity for certain of their
new generic products and regulatory changes that may prevent Teva or Barr
from utilizing exclusivity periods, competition from brand-name companies
that are under increased pressure to counter generic products, or
competitors that seek to delay the introduction of generic products, the
impact of consolidation of our distributors and customers, potential
liability for sales of generic products prior to a final resolution of
outstanding patent litigation, including that relating to the generic
versions of Allegra(R), Neurontin(R), Lotrel(R) and Protonix(R), the
effects of competition on our innovative products, especially Copaxone(R)
sales, the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and pending
legislation that could affect the pharmaceutical industry, the difficulty
of predicting U.S. Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency
and other regulatory authority approvals, the regulatory environment and
changes in the health policies and structures of various countries, our
ability to achieve expected results though our innovative R&D efforts,
Teva's ability to successfully identify, consummate and integrate
acquisitions, potential exposure to product liability claims to the extent
not covered by insurance, dependence on the effectiveness of our patents
and other protections for innovative products, significant operations
worldwide that may be adversely affected by terrorism, political or
economical instability or major hostilities, supply interruptions or delays
that could result from the complex manufacturing of our products and our
global supply chain, environmental risks, fluctuations in currency,
exchange and interest rates, and other factors that are discussed in Teva's
Annual Report on Form 20-F, Barr's Annual Report on Form 10-K and their
other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are
made, and neither Teva nor Barr undertakes no obligation to update publicly
or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future developments or otherwise.
This communication is being made in respect of the proposed merger
involving Teva and Barr. In connection with the proposed merger, Teva will
be filing a registration statement on Form F-4 containing a proxy
statement/prospectus for the stockholders of Barr, and Barr will be filing
a proxy statement for the stockholders of Barr, and each will be filing
other documents regarding the proposed transaction, with the SEC. Before
making any voting or investment decision, Barr's stockholders and investors
are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the merger and
any other relevant documents carefully in their entirety when they become
available because they will contain important information about the
proposed transaction. Once filed, the registration statement containing the
proxy statement/prospectus and other documents will be available free of
charge at the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov. You will also be able to obtain
the proxy statement/prospectus and other documents free of charge by
contacting Barr Investor Relations at 201-930-3720 or Teva Investor
Relations at 972-3-926-7554 / 215-591-8912.
Teva, Barr and their respective directors and executive officers and
other members of management and employees may be deemed to participate in
the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transactions.
Information regarding Barr's directors and executive officers is available
in Barr's proxy statement for its 2008 annual meeting of stockholders,
which was filed with the SEC on April 7, 2008 and information regarding
Teva's directors and executive officers is available in Teva's Annual
Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2007, which was filed
with the SEC on February 29, 2008. Additional information regarding the
interests of such potential participants will be included in the proxy
statement/prospectus and the other relevant documents filed with the SEC
when they become available.
SOURCE Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.; Barr Pharmaceuticals,
Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.barrlabs.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/089750.html/
CONTACT:
Investors, Elana Holzman, +972-3-926-7554,
elana.holzman@teva.co.il, or Kevin Mannix, +1-215-591-8912,
kevin.mannix@tevausa.com, or Media, Ayala Miller,
+972-3-926-7262, ayala.miller@teva.co.il, or Denise Bradley,
+1-215-591-8974, denise.bradley@tevausa.com, all for Teva; or
Investors and Media, Carol A. Cox of Barr, +1-201-930-3720,
carol.cox@barrlabs.com
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