Aug 20 (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltdon Tuesday made its generic version of Mylan'sEpiPen for young children available in most retail pharmacies at$300 for a 2-pack.
U.S.-listed shares of the Israel-based company rose 4.9% to$7 in afternoon trading.
Teva, the world's largest generic drugmaker, isalready selling the product for adults, after getting U.S.approval for its copy of EpiPen last August, following severalyears of delay.
Raymond James analyst Elliot Wilbur estimates the currentU.S. epinephrine market is worth about $700 million.
"Teva can capture about $290 million-$300 million in annualsales, or roughly 45% market share," Wilbur said.
The launch of the EpiPen generic for children comes aswelcome news for the company, as analysts have raised concernsover its ability to pay down its debt load, which was $28.7billion at the end of June.
The drugmaker has been struggling with falling prices ofgenerics and faces lawsuits that allege it helped fuel the U.S.opioid addiction epidemic.
On Tuesday, peers Endo International Plc andAllergan Plc tentatively agreed to pay $15 million toavoid going to trial in October in a landmark case involving twoOhio counties accusing certain drug manufacturers anddistributors of fueling the opioid crisis.
Teva, which in May agreed to pay $85 million as a settlementto the state of Oklahoma in another opioid-related lawsuit,is set to face trial on Oct. 21.
Mylan also produces a generic version of its own life-savingEpiPen allergy treatment, which like Teva's product is priced atabout $300.
There has been a shortage of EpiPens in the United States,Europe and Canada, mainly due to a series of manufacturingdelays at Pfizer Inc's Meridian Medical unit thatproduces all EpiPens sold globally at a single plant near St.Louis.(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee and Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru;Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)