Teva. Letter. Ethical challenges in primary care. ENG

To: 

Primary Care profesionals, patients and relatives

Subject:

Raising awareness of ethical challenges related to the pharmaceutical company Teva.

Who we are

We are a group of healthcare professionalsⁱ moved by the humanitarian catastrophe and the total destruction of the healthcare system in Gaza. We cannot remain indifferent to the suffering and death of tens of thousands of Palestinian children, women and civilians for more than a year, nor to the targeted killing of healthcare professionals. We therefore write in the hope of engaging together in concrete action aimed at reducing this suffering, or at least not contributing to it.

 

Teva
The large Teva industry, responsible for the manufacture of the branded drugs Teva (and Tevagen, Ratiopharm and Davur in Spain), is among the largest generic drug companies in the worldⁱⁱ and generates millions of dollars in revenue for the Israeli military and colonial regime, thus being a facilitator of genocide, of the apartheid regime and directly responsible for health apartheid in Palestine. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Teva has four production sites in Israel and also operates in illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Teva is a corrupting pharmaceutical company that has been condemned up $ 9 billions to fines and penalties for its irregular activityⁱⁱⁱ.

 

The market position of Teva

Teva Pharmaceutical sees more growth in 2025 after beating third-quarter profit forecasts, boosted by strong sales of copycat medicines and its branded drugs to treat migraines and Huntington's disease. For examplo, in U.S. sales of Uzedy rose to $35 million in the third quarter from $2 million a year earlier and were on track for $100 million in 2024. Sales of migraine treatment Ajovy rose 21% to $137 million, while Huntington's disease drug Austedo jumped 28% to $435 million, with an expected $1.6 billion in 2024. Generic drug sales in the United States climbed 30% to $1.09 billion, led by a copycat version of Revlimid that treats multiple myeloma. Generic sales in Europe grew 10% to $973 million^iv. In Spain, prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacies accounted for an expenditure of over €13 million in 2023^v.

 

Boycott

Since October 2023, while the state of Israel commits genocide in Gaza, voices have been raised around the world calling for a boycott of Teva, such as the campaign “Teva j'en veux pas” in France^vi, “non à Teva” in Belgium, “Teva, no grazie!” in Italy, “Boikot Teva Israeldar Farmazeutikarik EZ!” in Euskadi or the protest action in front of the Teva factory in Zaragoza (Spain) and elsewhere.
Boycotting companies from a country that disregards human rights is a pressure tool that has proven effective in the past; for example, the boycott movement, which urged world citizens to avoid buying products from South Africa, played an important role in the fall of South African apartheid in 1991^vii.
From our point of view, as prescribers and consumers of pharmaceuticals, but also as simple individuals, it is our collective responsibility to participate in the boycott of companies like Teva, which support Israel's position despite ongoing war crimes.

According to the recent declaration of the International Court of Justice, Israel illegally occupies Palestine and UN member states have an obligation to avoid aiding Israeli activities, thus reinforcing the legitimacy of international calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS)^viii.

 

What to do? No prescribing (physicians), no dispensing (pharmacist), no consumption (patients)

In primary care we can exercise a key role for health and human dignity and therefore we strongly encourage you to adopt an ethical attitude, avoiding prescribing Teva medicines or those of its subsidiaries Tevagen, Ratiopharm and Davur.
To do this, we can carry out different actions that can facilitate the boycott of this brand:
1.-Appealing to pharmacists: through the dissemination of a letter addressed to community pharmacies^ix. Also from the local prescription application, writing an annotation to the community pharmacy urging them not to dispense these brands, or prescribe another brand and indicate that it should not be changed. This video explains how it is done in Andalusia (Spain)^x.

2.- Appealing to fellow health professionals: by disseminating this letter, informative material, such as the posters that we include in our web^xi, or this video that we have made^xii. We can focus our boycott on the drugs most frequently prescribed in our country, given that 9 of the 10 first on the list are available under the Teva, Tevagen, Ratiopharm or Davur brands.Here you can see an excel with advice on how to avoid prescribing Teva brands for these drugs^xiii.
3.- Appealing to patients: explaining in consultation, also from the prescription application, writing an annotation for the patient recommending that they reject Teva brand drugs, with information leaflets or posters hung; distributing information in demonstrations for Palestine; explaining in other spaces of activism for Palestine.
.
We hope to join efforts in this important humanitarian cause.
Thank you for your solidarity.
Health Workers For Palestine Spain
hcw4palestinespain@gmail.com
Health workers 4 Palestine - Spain | https://hw4p.es/