Teva sees US generic share above 30 pct

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(Adds details from interview)

By Lewis Krauskopf

NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA.O) could see its U.S. generic-drug market share swell to more than 30 percent in the next five years, its North American chief said on Thursday.

Israel-based Teva, the market leader with 20 percent, has about 150 generic drugs awaiting U.S. approval that are versions of brand-name medicines worth a total of about $90 billion in annual sales, said George Barrett, CEO of Teva North America.

"It's not hard for us to imagine a market share that's above 30 percent," Barrett said at the Reuters Health Summit in New York. "That could be driven by a combination of things, both the growth of our business organically as well as some opportunities to grow through acquisition."

"If you look at other industries, it's not unusual to see market leaders that have shares in the 30s and sometimes even 40s," Barrett said.

Of the generic drugs awaiting approval, 43 involve products where Teva could be the lone generic on the market for a six-month period.

"In terms of our U.S. pipeline, we have really built a large enterprise over many years; we continue to file at an exciting rate," Barrett said.

The U.S. market -- the largest for prescription drugs in the world -- continues to attract new players, but market share seems to be concentrating among the leaders, Barrett said.

He said more consolidation is likely in the generic industry, despite several large deals in recent years.

"I don't think this industry consolidation is done," Barrett said. "Some of the players that we see today in five years may be sellers."

"Long term, anybody who competes in this space is going to need to have all the tools to be able to compete," Barrett said.

Barrett said attractive acquisition targets around the world would strengthen Teva's position in geographic markets or add new technologies.

One "intriguing market" is Japan, Barrett said. Japan has been slower to adopt generic drugs than other countries but just last week proposed changes to boost their use. "It's sort of a slow-moving market; but they're saying a lot of things in recent months and this year to suggest that they recognize that higher use of generics are going to be a key to helping to contain healthcare costs," Barrett said.