EU Clears Teva, Lonza Pharma JV

Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Swiss drugs industry supplier Lonza Group won approval from the European Commission for a joint venture in the biosimilar industry. The European Commission said in a statement that no competition problems were likely to arise from the proposed venture. Biosimilars are the generic equivalent of drugs produced using biological processes. The companies are seeking to become a leading global provider of biosimilars or generic versions of biotechnology drugs, which usually generate higher margins than conventional "small molecule" generic drugs.