Teva Pharmaceutical Industries , the world’s largest generics drugmaker, is a leading candidate to buy Irish biopharmaceutical company Amarin , Israel’s Calcalist financial daily reported on Thursday. Calcalist said British drugmaker AstraZenecaBSE -2.22 % was also looking to buy Amarin, which has a market value on Nasdaq of $1.6 billion. A spokeswoman for Israel-based Teva said the company did not comment on rumours. Similarly, a spokeswoman for AstraZeneca said the company did not comment on market speculation. Earlier this month, Teva’s new chief executive, Jeremy Levin, said it was not planning major acquisitions as it placed more emphasis on expanding branded-drug activities. Teva has said it would unveil a long-term plan to reshape the company on Dec. 11. AstraZeneca’s new CEO Pascal Soriot has acknowledged that deals will be important in rebuilding the company’s drug pipeline.
