Just over half of the Irish working age population regularly use prescription medicines^[1]. One in eight of these come from Teva Pharmaceuticals, an Israeli pharmaceutical giant that has been subject to a global boycott since it was designated a target by the National Committee of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in early 2024.

Teva is classified as a pressure target, meaning its goods and services are to be boycotted where reasonable alternatives exist, and activists are to engage in direct action against the company.

Why Teva?

Teva has a track record of prioritising profit over the welfare of ordinary people, no matter their nationality.

The most illustrative example is that of the drug Copaxone (glatiramer acetate), which is used to treat the disease multiple sclerosis. In 2024, the European Commission found that Teva was illegally extending its patent over Copaxone and intentionally spreading misinformation about equivalent drugs created by competitors. This attempt at preserving its monopoly “may have prevented significant savings for public-health budgets”^[2].

During the early stages of the 2026 Iran war, the Israeli military bombed the Iranian pharmaceutical company Tofigh Darou, which reportedly produces its own glatiramer acetate^[3]. Prior to this, Teva participated in the ‘Adopt-a-Battalion’ programme, which saw companies sponsor particular units of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF)^[4].

This cut-throat approach is being reflected at Teva’s Waterford firm Norton, where up to nineteen SIPTU workers were threatened with redundancy earlier in the year^[5].

Domestic support

It is civil society organisations like Irish Pharmacists for Palestine, Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine, BDS Belfast and the border branches of the Ireland–Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) that have spearheaded the Teva boycott for years.

More recently, over 700 Irish medical workers and consultants across Beaumont Hospital, Children’s Health Ireland and the Cappagh Hospital voiced their support for the boycott in 2025^[6]. In February 2026, the Regional Health Forum of the West and North West – which covers Connacht and Donegal – called on the HSE itself to adopt the boycott^[7].

Individual pharmacies like dPharmacy by O’Flynn’s in Ardee have also taken it upon themselves to affirm their compliance^[8].

Some activist contingents have gone a step further and protested the pharmaceutical wholesaler Uniphar in the hopes that unionised Uniphar workers will refuse to handle Teva products.

Personal action

If you are taking prescription medications, notify your pharmacy that:

1. You wish for your files to be marked ‘Teva-Last’, meaning you would like to avoid using Teva Pharmaceuticals products where viable alternatives exist.
2. You would like the pharmacy to look at becoming a ‘Teva-Last’ pharmacy, meaning it would try to stock and dispense other suitable non-Teva medicines first where viable alternatives exist.

Teva also sells five over-the-counter (OTC) products in Ireland: Sudocrem, Exorex, Cetriz, Buplex and Motusol. If you use one of these, ask your pharmacist or another qualified professional for a suitable alternative.