Teva – Global Giant of the Pharmaceutical Industry in the Czech Republic

Origins and development of the company

The company, then known as Salomon, Levin and Elstein Ltd., was founded in 1901 in Jerusalem. In the first half of the 20th century the company achieved great success and progress resulting in membership of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. This way it became a part of the group of companies whose shares have been traded there since 1951. Gradual acquisitions of smaller pharmaceutical companies strengthened its market position but a real milestone was a big pharmaceutical merge with two other Israeli companies in 1976. Shortly afterwards the company, then known as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., took over Ikapharm, then the second biggest medicine producer in Israel. As a result of this deal the company finally achieved its goal to become the largest healthcare company in Israel.

The next logical step was to enter foreign markets. In 1985 the company moved into the North American market, in the nineties it gradually acquired markets of countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. Teva achieved its global success mainly thanks to acquiring its competitors and important pharmaceutical companies. In 2006 it acquired the American company Ivax Corporation, a company that was very important in the Czech Republic, and, a year later, Barr, also an American company. Its position in Europe was strengthened by the takeover of the German-based company Ratiopharm in 2010 and by the acquisition of the Japanese company Taiyo Pharmaceutical Industry in 2011. The acquisitions of other American companies followed; Cephalon in 2011 and, most recently, NuPathe in 2014. At present, Teva, based in Petach Tikva, Israel, operating in more than 60 countries around the world and with more than 45,000 employees,, is the 15th largest pharmaceutical company in the world. It is even the biggest company in the field of its specialization, i.e. production of generic pharmaceuticals. Teva is a member of both the New York Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Teva in the Czech Republic

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has sold its products to the Czech market since 1997. However, the most important event was the takeover of Ivax Pharmaceuticals (established as Galena Opava in 1883) in 2006. Two years later, in 2008, Teva invested 1.6 billion crowns in the factory in Opava. This was the largest investment in the Czech Republic in the pharmaceutical industry since 1989. The new manufacturing line not only created 400 new jobs but obviously also increased production capacity. In 2008 Ivax was transformed into a subsidiary company called Teva Czech Industries with two divisions. Pharma, the first division, produces, packs and sells the pills themselves. TAPI, the second one, is focused on development and production of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The most recent important event in the Czech "history" of Teva was the building of a brand new factory in Opava. The investment of 1.4 billion crowns since 2010 has helped the company, thanks to a production capacity of 8 billion pills a year, to become one of the ten largest pharmaceutical companies in the Czech Republic. Construction lasted only a year and created 350 new jobs. This factory's entire production is intended for the American market. A further investment of 0.5 billion crowns is expected in the near future. Therefore, the company should become one of the biggest European medicine producers.

The company in numbers

As previously mentioned, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. operates in more than 60 countries worldwide. It employs over 46,000 people, 15,000 of them in the Czech Republic. The company’s revenue reached 20.3 billion dollars and a net profit of 1.9 billion dollars last year. Teva is one of the 15 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. In the field of generic pharmaceuticals, i.e. a pharmaceutical product, usually intended to be interchangeable with a developer's product, that is manufactured without a license from the developing company and marketed after the expiry date of the patent or other exclusive rights, Teva is the biggest and most important company in the world.

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