Teva and Ivax Bet on French Generics

Although generics still account for a paltry percentage of prescription drug usage in France, Ivax and Teva reckon the market is set to grow. Last April Ivax acquired all the products within Merck Sharpe & Dohme; just days later, Teva bought Bayer's French generics business. Teva and Ivax clearly hope that France-the world's fourth largest drug market-will follow its neighbors Germany and the UK, where generics represent a far greater proportion of the total pharmaceutical market.