Incoming Teva CEO Jeremy Levin (front). The early reaction to Teva’s CEO shuffle has been positive. Shares in the Israeli pharmaceutical company were up more than 5 percent this morning, and Wall Street analysts praised the skills of incoming CEO Jeremy Levin, whose deal-making has helped revive Bristol-Myers Squibb. When Levin succeeds Shlomo Yanai in May, he is going to need those skills, and then some. Teva is a company in transition. Once a plucky upstart, it’s now an industry behemoth, among the world’s largest drug makers with a market capitalization exceeding $35 billion. And the tables have turned, as firms in India grab share playing Teva’s game –  selling low-priced generic drugs. The result: Teva has moved into more lucrative brand-name medicines. Copaxone, for multiple sclerosis, accounts for nearly a fifth of its $16 billion 2010 sales. Last year, Teva agreed to pay $6.8 billion for a branded drug company called Cephalon. The company is looking more like a traditional drug maker. (We’ve written before about

the increasingly fuzzy dividing line between big generic and brand-name drug companies.) In the 58-year-old Levin, Teva has hired an executive with Big Pharma experience to continue the makeover. He’s been Bristol-Myers Squibb’s top deal-maker the last four years and also spent time at Swiss giant Novartis. Teva investors are hoping that Levin can buoy shares that fell 23% last year, amid concerns about Copaxone facing its own generic competition, the intensifying competition from Indian upstarts and lackluster generic drug sales in the U.S. Easier said than done. Teva’s generic-industry DNA looms large inside the company, presenting a management challenge for any executive, let alone one lacking experience both in generics and running a massive organization. Things like the amount of the dividend are gaining importance. And making the most of the company’s pipeline and brands may matter just as much, if not more, than the deal-making that Levin is renowned for. Image: iStockphoto

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Difficult Road Ahead For New Teva CEO