Teva, growing global backlash. Teva, boicot creciente ENG ESP

ENGLISH

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, an Israeli company and one of the world’s largest producers of generic drugs, is facing growing global backlash.

Nov 2025

Once seen as a leader in affordable medicine, Teva is now widely criticized for ethical contradictions and its indifference to humanitarian crises.

The company has come under fire for its complicity in the Israeli regime’s war on Gaza. Many doctors, nurses, and activists accuse Teva of ignoring the suffering of Palestinian civilians, especially children, and have begun boycotting its products.

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens—with widespread shortages of medicine and destruction of healthcare infrastructure—Teva has been criticized for failing to provide aid or support. Instead, its public statements have focused solely on supporting Israel and meeting domestic needs.

Despite repeated calls from the UN and human rights organizations to deliver life-saving drugs to Gaza, Teva has not taken practical steps to help. Critics say this silence, while children die from treatable conditions, has severely damaged the company’s reputation.

Teva’s alignment with Israeli policies, including its financial contributions through taxes and support for military-linked aid programs, has raised ethical concerns. The company is now being questioned not only politically but also morally.

In response, medical professionals in countries like Canada, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the USA have called for a boycott of Teva’s drugs. Irish doctors urged their government to stop using Israeli medications, especially for children, citing ethical violations.

In Canada, the campaign started in 2019 in Vancouver "Boycott TEVA, the Israeli pharmaceutical company that is one of the largest generic drug manufacturers in the world. Order a strip of our “No TEVA” stickers for free by clicking on the Send Message button at the top right of this page and letting us know where to send your Boycott TEVA kit. Or just tell your regular pharmacy to put a permanent “No TEVA” note on your file!"

In Belgium, 319 healthcare providers and 12 institutions say NO to TEVA. For example, Genk supports boycott of Israeli pharmaceutical manufacturer Teva: "Don't buy products from companies that actively support the Israeli army" Stop buying Teva medications. This unmistakable message was delivered by an action group at the weekly market in Genk. During the protest, Mayor Wim Dries (CD&V) signed an open letter to all pharmacists urging them to offer a different version if their customers request Teva medication.  Following her party colleague Wim Dries, CD&V parliamentary group leader Nawal Farih is also calling on Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) to ban Teva medications from the Belgian healthcare system if equivalent alternatives exist.

Staff at Dublin’s National Orthopedic Hospital joined the boycott, and viral videos from Italy showed doctors discarding Teva products in protest. These acts reflect widespread anger at a company expected to save lives but accused of ignoring a humanitarian disaster.

Throughout the genocide, BDS Italy has been working closely with the local collective Health Workers for Gaza (Sanitari per Gaza), achieving major milestones. One of their first actions under the Teva boycott campaign was to distribute leaflets in front of pharmacies to raise awareness among patients and pharmacists about the company’s role in the genocide.

"Mediant" (mental health institution, Twente, Netherlands) boycotts Israeli products for humanity, compassion, and the protection of mental well-being in Gaza. 

In Spain, doctors from the Basque Country, Navarre, and Madrid have called for the cancellation of Teva purchases, the professional association Health Workers For Palestine Spain is promoting a boycott, and two regional governments (Navarre and Asturias) have terminated their contracts with Teva.

In America earlier this year [2025], Health Care Workers for Palestine (HCW4P) launched a worldwide campaign to boycott the Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals, a major distributor of generic medications here in the U.S. and throughout the Western hemisphere. The campaign in the U.S. was adopted by local chapters of HCW4P in major areas, including the San Francisco Bay Area, New York and Philadelphia.

Teva reportedly paid $750 million in taxes to the Israeli government in 2024, which critics say helps fund military operations in Gaza. This financial link has intensified calls for accountability.

For many, Teva is no longer just a pharmaceutical brand—it has become a symbol of profit-driven disregard for human rights. Its silence amid Gaza’s suffering is seen as prioritizing politics and business over compassion and ethics.

Teva has actively supported the genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 and contributed to the erosion of Palestinian healthcare long before that, Giorgia Gusciglio, Europe Coordinator for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaigns at the Palestinian BDS National Committee, told People’s Health Dispatch.

Last year [2024], as Gaza’s health services and workers faced near-total annihilation from Israeli attacks, Teva reported over USD 16.5 billion in revenue. Part of that revenue comes from the Palestinian market, where the company profits from the double standards imposed by the apartheid regime.

In contrast to Palestinian pharmaceutical producers, who face severe restrictions, prolonged import procedures, and arbitrary “dual-use” designations for essential components, Teva is free to market its products in the occupied territories, many times without adapting packaging or documentation. According to sources collected by BDS Italy, the company even sells medicines in boxes and with instruction leaflets not translated into Arabic.

The exploitation of pharmaceutical needs in occupied territories is not unique to Teva or the time since 2023. The 2012 report “Captive economy: The pharmaceutical industry and the Israeli occupation” [Who Profits?] concluded that “all Israeli pharmaceutical companies sell their products on the Palestinian market and profit from it, without paying any price for the occupation and its damage.”

A matter of Palestine solidarity and access to medicines

Beyond usurping the Palestinian market, Teva also holds an important share of Europe’s pharmaceutical landscape: not only through its large generics portfolio, but also through proprietary products for multiple sclerosis and cancer. The contradiction between Teva’s stated “commitment toward better health” and its well-documented complicity in war crimes has driven the growth of groups mobilizing to boycott and expose the company. 

ESPAÑOL