NEW YORK (AP) -- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said Wednesday it will team with Kowa Co. to create a generic drug maker in Japan, a large market where it expects generic use to grow over the next few years.
Teva-Kowa Pharma Co. will be owned equally by the two partners, with operations beginning in 2009. The companies set a goal of $1 billion in sales for 2015.
Israel-based Teva said Japan is the second largest drug market in the world, with annual sales of $80 billion. About 17 percent of all prescriptions are for generic drugs, and the Japanese government wants to increase that total to 30 percent by 2012.
About 80 percent of Teva's sales come from Europe and North America.