Britain’s nursing union, the Royal College of Nursing, on Friday severed its ties with Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries over ties to the Israel Defense Forces and a history of corporate misconduct.
The RCN will cease working with Teva as a supplier and has canceled its selection as a sponsor for a migraine conference scheduled to take place at its London headquarters later this month. Teva expressed disappointment with the announcement and the politicization of the British healthcare system, according to a company statement.
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Teva’s logistics center. Credit: Eyal Toueg
Teva’s logistics center. Credit: Eyal Toueg
Pro-Palestinian organizations recently pressured the RCN to sever ties with the company. The organization Nurses for Palestine welcomed the announcement, saying that “Teva has no place sponsoring professional bodies dedicated to healing, care and preserving human life.”
In a letter to the organization, Carmel O’Boyle, chairwoman of the RCN’s governing council, wrote that the decision was made after their investigations found that some of Teva’s activities, which were under scrutiny and faced legal sanctions, do not align with the organization’s values.
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In 2024, for example, the European Commission fined the company €462.6 million for preventing competitors from marketing their multiple sclerosis drugs in seven European countries to promote its own drug, Copaxone. In 2023, Teva settled with the U.S. Justice Department, agreeing to pay $225 million to resolve charges related to price-fixing involving three drugs.
A Teva spokesman said in response to the RCN decision that “as one of the largest suppliers of medicines in the U.K., we value our long-standing partnership with the RCN and the opportunity we’ve had to support healthcare workers and their patients. We are disappointed by the RCN’s decision to end this collaboration and wish to continue dialogue with them. The healthcare system functions best when it is focused on patient well-being and not politicized.”
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Teva further told TheMarker: “Our deep commitment, as a global pharmaceutical company operating in nearly 60 markets worldwide, to supporting healthcare professionals and patients by ensuring access to quality and affordable medicines, remains unchanged. Although we disagree with the decision, we will continue to operate with integrity and focus on what matters most: helping patients access the medicines they need.”