Teva Bond Hits Record Low as Best-Seller Drug Copycat Approved

(Bloomberg) -- Bonds of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. plunged Wednesday as competitor Mylan NV won approval on a generic copy of its best-selling drug.

Teva's bonds fell the most in the U.S. corporate debt market, according to Trace, the bond-reporting system. The 4.1 percent bond due in 2046 dropped to a record low of 81 cents. Teva's 3.15 percent note maturing in 2026 fell as much as 3.2 cents on the dollar to 89.6 cents, its biggest drop ever.

The plunge came as Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based Mylan was able to win U.S. regulatory approval for the first generic copies of Teva's best-selling multiple-sclerosis drug, Copaxone. Shares of the Israeli company fell 15 percent in New York trading, the most in two months, as investors feared that the drugmaker's key product was under threat.

The news sparked a jump in trading in the bonds that's set to exceed the number of transactions in Teva's borrowings over the past 10 days.

--With assistance from Sridhar Natarajan

To contact the reporter on this story: Molly Smith in New York at msmith604@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nikolaj Gammeltoft at ngammeltoft@bloomberg.net, Kenneth Pringle

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