Teva Pharmaceutical

Stock performance

History

Teva traces to a small Jerusalem drug-distribution business founded in the early twentieth century, and grew over decades into a major producer of generic medicines, expanding dramatically through a series of large international acquisitions from the 1990s through the 2010s, including its 2016 purchase of Allergan's generics business, which made it the largest generic-drug maker in the world but also loaded the company with heavy debt that has weighed on it since.

Business model

Teva manufactures and markets generic prescription medicines across a vast global portfolio, alongside a smaller branded-drug business including treatments for multiple sclerosis and migraine. Its business depends on manufacturing efficiency and regulatory approval speed to be first-to-market with generic versions of drugs as they lose patent protection.

Market position

Teva is one of the largest generic-drug manufacturers in the world by volume, though it has faced significant financial strain from acquisition-related debt and major legal settlements tied to the US opioid crisis, in which Teva was one of several manufacturers found to have contributed to over-prescription. It has been working through a multi-year debt-reduction and restructuring plan.

Country impact

Teva is one of the largest and most internationally significant companies in Israel and a major employer in Israeli pharmaceutical manufacturing and research. Its financial troubles and opioid-related legal settlements have been closely watched domestically given the company's outsized importance to the Israeli economy and stock market.