In a price-hike which took effect in the beginning of 2013, bigwig Israeli drug-manufacturer Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. increased the costs of Copaxone and Azilect, which are two leading brand drugs of the company.

The increase in the prices of Teva's Copaxone and Azilect drugs - used respectively for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson's disease - is a steep 10 percent higher than the increase in the costs of competing drugs.

The price of Copaxone, which is Teva's best-selling drug, has already been increased two times - by 39 percent and 15 percent - over the last couple of years. The latest hike comes at a time when the injection-administered drug is set to face potential competition from two new orally-administered drugs: Biogen's BG-12; and Sanofi Aventis' Aubagio.

About the Copaxone price-hike, Teva said that the drug's price reflects its value, which includes "support and services for patients in addition to its clinical advantages;" and also added that Copaxone is "competitively priced" vis-a-vis the other available MS-treatment drugs.

Meanwhile, commenting on the increase in the price of Azilect, Teva noted that the cost of supplying the drug to the market has been increasing, and also said that, despite the recent price-hike, Azilect is "still competitively priced compared with other medications, and its cost is covered by most insurance companies."