Teva joins world’s top 20 pharma firms

Annual revenues increased in 2023

After years of financial problems, downsizing, and dismissals, Israel’s multinational Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has been named No. 19 among the top 20 best-earning pharmaceutical companies in the world.

In 2022, Teva had revenues of $14.9 billion, which rose to $15.8b. last year.

It has long specialized in generic drugs, but it has had some Israeli-created blockbuster original products, including Copaxone for multiple sclerosis, which was developed at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. It is the largest generic drug company and the 18th-largest pharmaceutical company in the world.

After 12 straight years in the top 20 – including two in the top 10 – Teva was knocked out of the rankings by COVID-19 vaccine sellers BioNTech and Moderna in 2021 and 2022. It reported growth in 2023 after five consecutive years of falling revenues from $22.4b. in 2017 to $14.9b. in 2022.

Teva reversed its fortunes with its “pivot to growth” strategy, which focuses on business development and the pipeline as the company tries to become less dependent on generics.

Listed on the New York and Tel Aviv stock exchanges, it manufactures its drugs in Israel, Europe, North and South America, and Australia. It has made a substantial number of acquisitions of foreign pharmaceutical companies, including ones in Japan and Germany.

But after a long past of legal trouble involving price-fixing and collusion to raise prices, resulting in criminal investigations by the US government and a huge fine, it has shown signs of recovery.

Kare Schultz, who was appointed CEO in 2017 and made huge cuts in factories and manpower, was followed by Richard Francis in January 2023 and reaps praise for the good news of its revenue improvement.

Johnson & Johnson was named No. 1 in 2023 revenue, followed by Roche, Merck, and Pfizer (well known for its development and production of COVID-19 vaccines).

At the bottom of the rankings, dropping out of the top 20, were prolific COVID vaccine sellers Moderna, which was previously No. 18, and BioNTech, which was No. 20, now that the pandemic is behind us.

Teva said it expects to continue the revenue upturn in 2024, though only by a small amount. It said it would continue the divestment of some companies, including a plan to part with the small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients business, which includes a portfolio of 350 products, serves more than 1,000 customers, and employs 4,300 workers.