10-K
Table of Contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
10-K
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024
For the transition period from to
Commission file number
001-16174
TEVA PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Israel Not Applicable
124 Dvora HaNevi’a St., Tel Aviv,
ISRAEL
, 6944020
(Address of principal executive offices and Zip Code)
+972
(3)
914-8213
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation
S-T
(§232-405
of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files.) Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a
non-accelerated
filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule
12b-2
of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to
§240.10D-1(b). ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2
of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of the voting common equity held by
non-affiliates
of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing price at which the American Depositary Shares were last sold on the New York Stock Exchange, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter (June 30, 2024), was approximately $18.32 billion. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited has no
non-voting
common equity. For purpose of this calculation only, this amount excludes ordinary shares and American Depositary Shares held by directors and executive officers and by each person who owns or may be deemed to own 10% or more of the registrant’s common equity at June 30, 2024.
As of December 31, 2024, the registrant had 1,133,838,689 ordinary shares outstanding.
Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its annual meeting of shareholders to be filed within 120 days after the close of the registrant’s fiscal year are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on
Form 10-K.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Introduction and Use of Certain Terms 1
Forward-Looking Statements 1
PART I
Item 1. Business 2
Item 1A. Risk Factors 29
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 54
Item 1C. Cybersecurity 54
Item 2. Properties 56
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 56
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 56
PART II
Item 6. [Reserved] 58
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 87
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 90
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 179
Item 9B. Other Information 180
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 180
Item 11. Executive Compensation 181
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 181
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 182
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION AND USE OF CERTAIN TERMS
Unless otherwise indicated, all references to the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “Teva” refer to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited and its subsidiaries, and references to “revenues” refer to net revenues. References to “U.S. dollars,” “dollars,” “U.S. $” and “$” are to the lawful currency of the United States of America, and references to “NIS” are to new Israeli shekels. References to “ADS(s)” are to Teva’s American Depositary Share(s). References to “MS” are to multiple sclerosis. Market data, including both sales and share data, is based on information provided by IQVIA, a provider of market research to the pharmaceutical industry (“IQVIA”), unless otherwise stated. References to “R&D” are to Research and Development, references to “IPR&D” are to in-process R&D, references to “S&M” are to Selling and Marketing and references to “G&A” are to General and Administrative. Some amounts in this report may not add up due to rounding. All percentages have been calculated using unrounded amounts. This report on Form 10-K contains many of the trademarks and trade names used by Teva in the United States and internationally to distinguish its products and services. Any third-party trademarks mentioned in this report are the property of their respective owners.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
In addition to historical information, this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the reports and documents incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are based on management’s current beliefs and expectations and are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that could cause our future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from that expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “target,” “may,” “project,” “guidance,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe” and other words and terms of similar meaning and expression in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include risks relating to:
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and other factors discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K including in the section captioned “Risk Factors.” Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or other information contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Business Overview
We are a global pharmaceutical leader, harnessing our generics expertise and stepping up innovation to continue the momentum behind the discovery, delivery, and expanded development of modern medicine.
We operate worldwide, with headquarters in Israel and a significant presence in the United States, Europe and many other markets around the world. Today, our global network of capabilities enables our approximately 37,000 employees across 57 markets to push the boundaries of scientific innovation and deliver quality medicines to help improve health outcomes for millions of patients every day.
Teva was incorporated in Israel on February 13, 1944 and is the successor to a number of Israeli corporations, the oldest of which was established in 1901.
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Our Business Segments
We operate our business through three segments: United States (previously referred to as the North America segment), Europe and International Markets. Each business segment manages our entire product portfolio in its region, including generics, which includes biosimilars and over-the-counter (“OTC”) products, as well as innovative medicines. This structure enables strong alignment and integration between operations, commercial regions, R&D and our global marketing and portfolio function, optimizing our product lifecycle across therapeutic areas.
In addition to these three segments, we have other activities, primarily the sale of active pharmaceutical ingredients (“API”) to third parties, certain contract manufacturing services and an out-licensing platform offering a portfolio of products to other pharmaceutical companies through our affiliate Medis.
For information regarding our major customers, see note 19 to our consolidated financial statements.
Below is an overview of our three business segments:
United States
As part of a recent shift in executive management responsibilities and in line with our Pivot to Growth strategy, commencing January 1, 2024, Canada is reported as part of our International Markets segment. See note 19 to our consolidated financial statements.
We are one of the leading generic pharmaceutical companies in the United States. We market approximately 500 generic prescription products in more than 1,400 dosage strengths, packaging sizes and forms, including oral solid dosage forms, injectable products, inhaled products, liquids, transdermal patches, ointments and creams. Most of our generic sales in the United States are made to retail drug chains, mail order distributors and wholesalers.
Our innovative medicines portfolio in the United States includes our core therapeutic area of central nervous system (“CNS”), with a strong emphasis on neurodegenerative disorders, neuropsychiatry, movement disorders, migraine and multiple sclerosis (“MS”). We also have innovative medicines in respiratory, oncology and selected other areas.
Our CNS portfolio includes AUSTEDO® (deutetrabenazine) tablets for the treatment of neurodegenerative and movement disorders – chorea associated with Huntington’s disease and tardive dyskinesia, AJOVY® (fremanezumab-vfrm) injection for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults, UZEDY® (risperidone) extended-release injectable suspension for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults, and COPAXONE®(glatiramer acetate) injection for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS.
We maintain a presence in oncology, including innovative, generic and biosimilar medicines, such as Truxima®(rituximab-abbs) injection for intravenous use, our first oncology biosimilar product in the United States for the treatment of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (“NHL”) and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (“CLL”), and BENDEKA® (bendamustine HCl), which is a liquid, low-volume (50 mL) and short-time 10-minute infusion formulation of bendamustine hydrochloride for the treatment of CLL and indolent B-cell NHL, that we licensed from Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Eagle”).
We maintain a presence in the respiratory business by delivering a range of medicines for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (“COPD”).
Anda, our distribution business in the United States, distributes generic, biosimilar and innovative medicines, and OTC pharmaceutical products from Teva and various third-party manufacturers, to independent retail pharmacies, pharmacy retail chains, hospitals and physician offices in the United States. Anda is able to compete in the distribution market by maintaining a broad portfolio of products, competitive pricing and delivery throughout the United States.
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Europe
Our Europe segment includes the European Union, the United Kingdom and certain other European countries.
We are one of the leading generic pharmaceutical companies in Europe. We are among the top three generic pharmaceutical companies in a number of European markets, including some of the largest markets in Europe. We are not substantially dependent on any single country in Europe for our total generic European revenues, which could be affected by pricing reforms or changes in regulations and public policy.
Despite their diversity and highly fragmented nature, the European markets share many characteristics that allow us to leverage our pan-European presence and broad portfolio. Global customers are important partners in our generic business and are expanding across Europe, although customer consolidation is lower than in the United States. We are one of a few generic pharmaceutical companies with a pan-European footprint, while most of our competitors focus on a limited number of selected markets or business lines.
Our OTC portfolio in Europe includes global brands such as SUDOCREM® as well as local and regional brands such as NasenDuo®, DICLOX FORTE®, OLFEN® Max and FLEGAMINA®.
Our innovative medicines portfolio in Europe focuses on three main areas: CNS (including migraine), respiratory and oncology. Our leading products in Europe are AJOVY and COPAXONE. AJOVY was granted EU marketing authorization in 2019 and, as of December 31, 2024, we have launched AJOVY in most European countries. COPAXONE continues to be among the primary products for the treatment of MS, although alternative therapies and competing glatiramer acetate products have been introduced to various markets in Europe. In line with our Pivot to Growth strategy, we are constantly evaluating and optimizing our products portfolio, including through the sale of certain product rights in our Europe segment.
International Markets
Our International Markets segment includes all countries in which we operate other than those in our United States and Europe segments. The International Markets segment covers a substantial portion of the global pharmaceutical industry, including more than 35 countries. As part of a recent shift in executive management responsibilities, commencing January 1, 2024, Canada is reported under our International Markets segment and is no longer included as part of our United States segment. For more information, see note 19 to our consolidated financial statements.
The countries in our International Markets segment include highly regulated, mainly generic markets, such as Canada and Israel, branded generics-oriented markets, such as Russia and certain Latin America markets, and hybrid markets, such as Japan. Each market’s strategy is built upon differentiation and filling the unmet needs of that market. Our integrated sales force enables us to extract synergies across our branded generic, OTC, biosimilars and innovative medicines product offerings and across various channels (e.g., retail, institutional).
In Japan, one of our key markets within our International Markets segment, we operate our generics business through a business venture with Takeda Pharmaceutical Companies Limited (“Takeda”), in which we own a 51% stake and Takeda owns the remaining 49%. In line with our Pivot to Growth strategy, on December 5, 2024, we announced that we entered into an agreement with JKI Co. Ltd., established by the fund managed and operated by private equity firm J-Will Partners Co. Ltd., to sell our business venture in Japan, which includes generic products and legacy products. We expect to complete the divestiture by April 1, 2025, subject to standard closing conditions, including obtaining required regulatory approvals. See note 2 to our consolidated financial statements.
Our innovative medicines portfolio in our International Markets segment focuses on three main areas: CNS (including migraine), respiratory and oncology. By the end of 2024, we launched AJOVY in certain countries
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within our International Markets segment, including in Canada, Japan, Australia, Israel, South Korea, Brazil and others. AUSTEDO was launched in China and Israel during 2021 and in Brazil in 2022.
Pivot to Growth Strategy
In 2024, we continued to execute on the four key pillars of our “Pivot to Growth” strategy, which we announced in May 2023.
Our Product Portfolio and Business Offering
Our product and service portfolio includes generic medicines, biosimilar medicines, innovative medicines, OTC products, a distribution business, API and contract manufacturing. Each region manages the entire range of products and services offered in its area, and our generics, biosimilars, OTC and innovative franchise units optimize our pipeline and product lifecycle across therapeutic areas. In most markets in which we operate, we use an integrated and comprehensive marketing model, offering a broad portfolio of products, including innovative medicines, generic products, biosimilars and OTC products. As part of our Pivot to Growth strategy, we intend to divest our API business, in order to focus on our core business strengths and capital allocation towards growth engines and innovation.
Generic Medicines
Generic medicines are the chemical and therapeutic equivalents of originator medicines and are typically more affordable in comparison to the originator’s products. Generic medicines are required to meet similar governmental requirements as their brand-name equivalents, such as those relating to current Good Manufacturing Practices (“cGMP”), manufacturing processes and health authorities’ inspections, and must receive regulatory approval prior to their sale in any given country. Generic medicines may be manufactured and marketed if relevant patents on their brand-name equivalents (and any additional government-mandated market exclusivity periods) have expired or have been challenged or otherwise circumvented.
We develop, manufacture and sell generic medicines in a variety of dosage forms, including tablets, capsules, injectables, inhalants, liquids, transdermal patches, ointments and creams. We offer a broad range of
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basic chemical entities, as well as specialized product families, such as sterile products, hormones, high-potency drugs and cytotoxic substances, in both parenteral and solid dosage forms. We also offer generic products with medical devices and combination products.
Our generics business has a wide-reaching commercial presence. We have a top three leadership position in many countries, including the United States and some key European markets. We have a robust product portfolio, comprehensive R&D capabilities and product pipeline, and a global operational network, which enables us to execute key generic launches to further expand our product pipeline and diversify our revenue stream. We use these capabilities to help overcome price erosion in our generics business.
When considering whether to develop a generic medicine, we take into account a number of factors, including our overall strategy, regional and local patient and customer needs, R&D and manufacturing capabilities, regulatory considerations, commercial factors and the intellectual property landscape. We will challenge patents when appropriate if we believe they are either invalid or would not be infringed by our generic version. We may seek alliances to acquire rights to products we do not have in our portfolio, to share development costs or litigation risks, or to resolve patent and regulatory barriers to entry.
In line with our Pivot to Growth strategy, we have been optimizing our global generics portfolio through product discontinuation and cost-structure improvements, focusing on pipeline optimization and high-value generics, including complex generics. This has resulted in the ongoing network optimization of our generics business, including our manufacturing and supply network, and in the closure or divestment of a significant number of manufacturing plants around the world in recent years.
In markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands and Israel, generic medicines may be substituted by the pharmacist for their brand name equivalent or according to their prescribed International Nonproprietary Name (“INN”). In these so-called “pure generic” markets, physicians and patients have little control over the choice of generic manufacturer, and consequently generic medicines are not actively marketed or promoted to physicians or consumers. Instead, the relationship between the manufacturer and pharmacy chains, distributors, health funds and other health insurers is critical. Many of these markets have automatic substitution models when generics are available as alternatives to brands. In Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and certain Latin American and European countries, generic medicines are generally sold under brand names alongside the originator brand. These markets are referred to as “branded generic” markets and in certain cases are “out of pocket” markets in which consumers can pay for a particular branded generic medicine (as opposed to government or privately funded medical health insurance), often at the recommendation of their physician. Branded generic products are actively promoted and a sales force is necessary to create and maintain brand awareness. Other markets, such as Germany, Japan, France, Italy and Spain, are hybrid markets with elements of both approaches.
Our position in the generics market has been supported by our global R&D function, as well as our API R&D and manufacturing activities, which provide vertical integration for our products.
For information about our product launches and pipeline of generic medicines in the United States and Europe, see “Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Segment Information—United States Segment” and “Item 7—Management’s Discussions and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Segment Information—Europe Segment.”
Biologic medicines are large and complex medicines produced by or made from living cells or organisms. Biosimilars are highly similar to the reference biologic, in both structure and function (e.g., pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, safety, efficacy and immunogenicity) and, for any approved uses, have no clinically meaningful differences from the reference product in terms of safety, purity, and potency.
In recent years, we launched the following biosimilar medicines: Truxima® (rituximab-abbs) (U.S.: 2019; Canada: 2020), Herzuma® (trastuzumab-pkrb) (U.S./Canada: 2020) and Ranivisio® (ranibizumab) (EU/UK: 2022; Canada: 2023).
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On February 24, 2024, Teva and Alvotech announced that the FDA approved SIMLANDI® (adalimumab-ryvk) injection, as an interchangeable biosimilar to Humira®, for the treatment of adult rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, adult psoriatic arthritis, adult ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease, adult ulcerative colitis, adult plaque psoriasis, adult hidradenitis suppurativa and adult uveitis. On May 21, 2024, Teva and Alvotech announced the availability of SIMLANDI in the U.S.
On April 16, 2024, Teva and Alvotech announced that the FDA approved SELARSDITM (ustekinumab-aekn) injection for subcutaneous use, as a biosimilar to Stelara®, for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and for active psoriatic arthritis in adults and pediatric patients six years and older.
On January 10, 2025, we announced that we entered into a strategic partnership with Samsung Bioepis for the commercialization of EPYSQLI® (eculizumab), Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilar to Soliris® (eculizumab-aagh) in the U.S., for the treatment of patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) and generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG). Under the terms of the agreement, Samsung Bioepis will be responsible for the development, regulatory registration, manufacture and supply of the product, and Teva will be responsible for commercialization of the product in the U.S.
On January 13, 2025, we announced we entered into a collaboration agreement with Formycon for the commercialization of FYB203, Formycon’s biosimilar candidate to Eylea® (aflibercept) in Europe (excluding Italy), the United Kingdom, Switzerland and in Israel, for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and other severe retinal diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Teva will lead the commercialization of FYB203 in the designated regions, to be marketed under the brand name AHZANTIVE®, subject to regulatory approval.
For information on our biosimilar products pipeline, see “—Research and Development” below.
Innovative Medicines
Our innovative medicines business is focused on delivering innovative solutions to patients and providers via medicines, devices and services in key regions and markets around the world, and includes our core therapeutic area of CNS, with a strong emphasis on neurodegenerative disorders, neuropsychiatry, movement disorders, migraine and MS. We also have innovative medicines in respiratory, oncology and selected other areas.
We deploy medical and sales and marketing professionals within specific therapeutic areas who seek to address the needs of patients and healthcare professionals. We tailor our patient support, payer relations and medical affairs activities to the distinct characteristics of each therapeutic area and medicine.
The U.S. market is the most significant market in our innovative medicines business. In Europe and International Markets, we leverage existing synergies between our innovative medicines business and our generics and OTC businesses. Our innovative medicines presence in International Markets is mainly built on our CNS, respiratory and oncology medicines.
We have built specialized “Patient Support Programs” to help patients adhere to their treatments, improve patient outcomes and, in certain markets, ensure timely delivery of medicines and assist in securing reimbursement. These programs reflect the importance we place on supporting patients and ensuring better medical outcomes for them. Patient Support Programs are currently operated in many countries around the world in multiple therapeutic areas. We believe that it is important to provide a range of services and solutions tailored to meet the needs of patients according to their specific condition and local market requirements. We believe this capability provides an important competitive advantage in the innovative medicines business.
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Below is a description of our key innovative medicines:
CNS (including Movement Disorders and Migraine)
Our CNS portfolio includes AUSTEDO for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia and chorea associated with Huntington’s disease, AJOVY for the preventive treatment of migraine, UZEDY for the treatment of schizophrenia, and COPAXONE for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS.
AUSTEDO
AJOVY
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UZEDY
COPAXONE
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Oncology
Our innovative oncology medicines portfolio mainly includes BENDEKA and TREANDA®in the United States.
BENDEKA and TREANDA
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Respiratory
Our respiratory portfolio includes rescue and maintenance inhalers in treatment classes that are most commonly used for patients with asthma and COPD. The list of products includes ProAir® RespiClick®, QVAR® Redihaler, BRALTUS®, CINQAIR/CINQAERO®, DuoResp® Spiromax® and AirDuo® RespiClick®.
Our portfolio of inhalers utilizing innovative multi-dose dry powder inhaler (“MDPI”) platform includes ProAir Respiclick (albuterol sulfate) inhalation powder and AirDuo RespiClick (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder) in the U.S., as well as DuoResp Spiromax (budesonide and formoterol) in Europe.
For information on our innovative medicines pipeline, see “—Research and Development” below.
Other Activities
We have other sources of revenues, primarily the sale of APIs to third parties, certain contract manufacturing services and an out-licensing platform offering a portfolio of products to other pharmaceutical companies through our affiliate Medis.
We produce approximately 350 APIs for our own use and for sale to third parties in many therapeutic areas. APIs used in pharmaceutical products are subject to regulatory oversight by health authorities. We utilize a variety of production technologies, including chemical synthesis, semi-synthetic fermentation, enzymatic synthesis, high potency manufacturing, plant extract technology, peptide synthesis, vitamin D derivatives synthesis and steroids. Our advanced technology and expertise in the field of solid state particle technology enable us to meet specifications for particle size distribution, bulk density, specific surface area and polymorphism, as well as other characteristics.
On January 31, 2024, we announced that we intend to divest our API business (including its R&D, manufacturing and commercial activities) through a sale. The intention to divest is in alignment with our Pivot to Growth strategy. However, there can be no assurance regarding the ultimate timing or structure of a potential divestiture or that a divestiture will be agreed or completed at all.
We provide contract manufacturing services related to products divested in connection with the sale of certain business lines, as well as other miscellaneous items. Our other activities are not included in our United States, Europe and International Markets segments described above.
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Research and Development
Our R&D activities span the breadth of our business, including innovative medicines, generic medicines (finished goods and API), biosimilars and OTC medicines.
All of our R&D activities are concentrated under one global group with overall responsibility for innovative medicines, generic medicines and biosimilars, enabling better focus and efficiency.
Our innovative R&D product pipeline is focused on biologic and small molecule products. Innovative medicines development activities include preclinical assessment (including toxicology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacology studies), clinical development (including pharmacology and the design, execution and analysis of global safety and efficacy trials), as well as regulatory strategy to deliver registration of our pipeline products. We develop novel innovative medicines in our core therapeutic and disease focus areas. We have neuroscience projects in areas such as neuropsychiatry, migraine and movement disorders/neurodegeneration. Our immunology projects include both novel compounds and delivery systems designed to address unmet patient needs.
We develop generic products for our United States, Europe and International Markets segments. Our focus is on high-value generics and complex formulations with complex technologies, which have higher barriers to entry. Generic R&D activities, which are carried out in development centers located around the world, include product formulation, analytical method development, stability testing, management of bioequivalence, bio-analytical studies, other clinical studies and registration of generic drugs in all of the markets where we operate. We also operate several clinics where most of our bioequivalence studies are performed as well as most of our Phase 1 studies for innovative medicines. We have more than 1,000 generic products in our pre-approved global pipeline, which includes products in all stages of the approval process: pre-submission, post-submission and after tentative approval.
In addition, our generic R&D supports our OTC business in developing OTC products, as well as in overseeing the work performed by contract developers.
Our current R&D capabilities include solid oral dosage forms (such as tablets and capsules), inhalation, semi-solid and liquid formulations (such as ointments and creams), sterile formulations and other dosage forms, and delivery systems, such as matrix systems, special coating systems for sustained release products, orally disintegrating systems, sterile systems, such as vials, syringes, blow-fill-seal systems, long-acting release injectable, transdermal patches, oral thin film, drug device combinations and nasal delivery systems.
We pursue biosimilar pipeline projects in other therapeutic and disease areas that leverage our global R&D and commercial areas of expertise. Biosimilar development activities, such as analytical method development, testing for analytical biosimilarity, pre-clinical work, chemical manufacturing and control, clinical studies and regulatory strategy, are conducted either in Teva’s various global development sites, or through our collaborations and strategic partnerships as mentioned below (see note 2 to our consolidated financial statements).
Our API R&D division focuses on the development of processes and physical compound characterization for the manufacturing of APIs, including intermediates, synthetic and fermentation products, for both our generic and proprietary drugs. Our facilities in various locations worldwide include one large development center focusing on synthetic products, three centers with specific expertise specializing in fermentation, semi-synthetic products and high-potency APIs, and a center for oligonucleotides and peptides. Our substantial investment in API R&D generates a steady flow of API products, supporting the timely introduction of generic products to market in compliance with increasing regulatory requirements. The API R&D division also seeks methods to continuously reduce API production costs, enabling us to improve our cost structure. On January 31, 2024, we announced that we intend to divest our API business (including its R&D, manufacturing and commercial activities) through a sale.
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In line with our Pivot to Growth strategy, and our focus on internal growth that leverages our R&D capabilities, we have entered into, and expect to pursue, in-licensing, acquisition, collaboration, funding and other partnership opportunities to supplement and expand our existing innovative medicines and biosimilar pipeline (e.g., the transactions with mAbxience, Launch Therapeutics, Alvotech, Modag, Sanofi, Royalty Pharma and Biolojic). In parallel, we evaluate and expand the development scope of our existing R&D pipeline products as well as our existing products for submission in additional markets and additional indications.
Innovative Medicines Pipeline
Below is a description of key products in our innovative medicines pipeline as of January 28, 2025:
Phase 2 Phase 3
Neuroscience Olanzapine LAI (TEV-‘749) Schizophrenia (September 2022)
Emrusolmin (2) (TEV-‘286) Multiple System Atropy
(1) In collaboration with Sanofi.
(2) In collaboration with Modag.
(3) In collaboration with Launch Therapeutics.
Biosimilar Products Pipeline
We have additional biosimilar products in development internally and with our partners that are in various stages of clinical trials and regulatory review worldwide, including confirmatory clinical trials for biosimilars to Xgeva® (denosumab), which was submitted for regulatory review in Europe, Xolair® (omalizumab), the biosimilars to Eylea® (aflibercept) and Entyvio® (vedolizymab), which are in collaboration with Alvotech for the U.S. market, and a biosimilar in collaboration with mAbxience. Our proposed biosimilar to Prolia® (denosumab) was submitted for regulatory review in the U.S. and Europe. Our proposed biosimilars to Simponi® and Simponi Aria® (golimumab), which are in collaboration with Alvotech, were submitted for regulatory review in the U.S.
Operations
We operate our business globally and believe that our global infrastructure provides us with the following capabilities and advantages:
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These capabilities provide us with the means to respond on a global scale to a wide range of therapeutic and commercial requirements of patients, customers and healthcare providers.
Pharmaceutical Production
We operate 34 finished dosage and packaging pharmaceutical plants in 27 countries. These plants manufacture solid dosage forms, sterile injectables, liquids, semi-solids, inhalers, transdermal patches and other medicinal products. In 2024, we produced approximately 72 billion tablets and capsules, and approximately 547 million sterile units.
The manufacturing sites located in North America, Europe, Latin America, India and Israel make up the majority of our production capacity.
We use several external contract manufacturers to achieve operational and cost benefits. We continue to strengthen our third-party operations unit to strategically work with our supplier base in order to meet cost, supply security and quality targets on a sustainable basis in alignment with our global procurement organization.
Our policy is to maintain multiple supply sources for APIs to appropriately mitigate risk in our supply chain to the extent possible. However, our ability to do so may be limited by regulatory and other requirements.
In recent years, we have closed or divested a significant number of manufacturing plants in the United States, Europe, Israel, Japan and India in connection with a restructuring plan and our ongoing efforts to consolidate our manufacturing and supply network.
Raw Materials for Pharmaceutical Production
In general, we purchase our raw materials and supplies required for the production of our products in the open market. For some products, we purchase such raw materials and supplies from one source (the only source available to us) or a single source (the only approved source among many available to us), thereby requiring us to obtain such raw materials and supplies from that particular source. We mitigate, where possible, our raw material supply risks through inventory management and alternative sourcing strategies. See also “Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Macroeconomic and Geopolitical Environment.”
We source a portion of our APIs from our own manufacturing facilities. Additional APIs are purchased from suppliers located in Europe, Asia and the Americas. We have implemented a supplier audit program to ensure that our suppliers meet our high standards and are able to fulfill the requirements of our global operations.
We currently have 13 API production facilities, producing approximately 350 APIs in various therapeutic areas. Our API intellectual property portfolio includes hundreds of granted patents and pending applications.
We have expertise in a variety of production technologies, including chemical synthesis, semi-synthetic fermentation, enzymatic synthesis, high-potency manufacturing, plant extract technology, peptides synthesis, vitamin D derivatives synthesis and steroids. Our advanced technology and expertise in the field of solid-state particle technology enable us to meet specifications for particle size distribution, bulk density, specific surface area and polymorphism, as well as other characteristics.
Our API facilities are required to comply with applicable cGMP requirements under U.S., European, Japanese and other applicable quality standards. Our API plants are regularly inspected by the FDA, European
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agencies and other authorities, as applicable. On January 31, 2024, we announced that we intend to divest our API business (including its R&D, manufacturing and commercial activities) through a sale.
Patents and Other Intellectual Property Rights
We rely on a combination of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and other proprietary know-how and regulatory exclusivities, as well as contractual protections, to establish and protect our intellectual property rights. We own or license numerous patents covering our products in the United States and other countries. We have also developed many brand names and own many trademarks covering our products. We consider the overall protection of our intellectual property rights to be of material value and act to protect these rights from infringement. We license or assign certain intellectual property rights to third parties in connection with certain business transactions.
Environment, Health and Safety
We are committed to business practices that promote socially and environmentally responsible economic growth. During 2024, we continued to make significant progress on our ESG strategy.
On Environment, Health and Safety (“EHS”), among other things, in 2024:
Please see the section entitled “Environmental” from Teva’s 2023 Healthy Future Sustainability Report (which can be found on our website) for more detailed information regarding our environmental goals and activities. Nothing on our website, including Teva’s 2023 Healthy Future Sustainability Report or sections thereof, shall be deemed incorporated by reference into this Annual Report or any other filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Quality
We are committed to complying with global quality requirements and guidance by developing and manufacturing our products in accordance with Current Good Clinical Practices (CGCP), Current Good Laboratory Practices (CGLP), and Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP), thereby leveraging quality as a competitive advantage. In 2024, we continued our commitment to comply with regulatory authorities’ expectations in our manufacturing sites across the globe for safe, effective and quality products. We actively engaged in discussions with authorities to mitigate potential drug shortages and participated in several industry-wide task forces. We continue to focus on ensuring our systems and processes are designed to meet current regulatory expectations, are suitable to facilitate intended operations, and are sustainable to ensure a reliable supply of quality products globally. Our Quality Management System (QMS) makes quality a priority, enabling continuous improvement. We seek to ensure that quality is embedded in our corporate culture through employee training and is reflected in all our daily operations, ensuring the delivery of reliable and high-quality products.
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Competition
Sales of generic medicines have benefitted from increasing awareness and acceptance on the part of healthcare insurers and institutions, consumers, physicians and pharmacists around the world. Factors contributing to this increased awareness are the passage of legislation permitting or encouraging generic substitution and the publication by regulatory authorities of lists of equivalent pharmaceuticals, which provide physicians and pharmacists with generic alternatives. In addition, various government agencies and many private managed care or insurance programs encourage the substitution of brand-name pharmaceuticals with generic products as a cost-savings measure in the purchase of, or reimbursement for, prescription pharmaceuticals.
In the United States, we are subject to competition in the generic drug market from domestic and international generic drug manufacturers and brand-name pharmaceutical companies through introduction of next-generation medicines, authorized generics, existing brand equivalents and manufacturers of therapeutically similar drugs. An increase in FDA approvals for existing generic products is increasing the competition on our base generic products. Price competition from additional generic versions of the same product typically results in margin pressures, which is causing some generics companies to increase focus on portfolio efficiency.
The European market continues to be even more competitive, especially in terms of pricing, higher quality standards, customer service and portfolio relevance. We are one of a few companies with a pan-European footprint, while most of our European competitors focus on a limited number of selected markets or business lines. Our leadership position in Europe allows us to be a reliable partner to fulfill the needs of patients, physicians, pharmacies, customers and payers.
In our International Markets, our global scale and broad portfolio give us a competitive advantage over local competitors, allowing us to optimize our offerings through a combination of high-quality medicines and unique go-to-market approaches.
Furthermore, in several markets such as Japan, governments have issued or are in the process of issuing regulations designed to increase generic penetration. In Japan, ongoing regulatory pricing reductions and generic competition to off-patented products have negatively affected our sales. These conditions result in intense competition in generics, with generic companies competing for advantage based on pricing, time to market, reputation and customer service.
The biosimilars business is also highly competitive and continues to evolve as intellectual property protections for biological products continue to expire in the United States. While we believe that our biologics knowledge and experience provide us with competitive advantages, we anticipate significant competition in the biosimilar space. Risks related to commercialization of our prospective biosimilars include the number of competitors, potential for steeper than anticipated price erosion, and intellectual property challenges that may impact timely commercialization. There is also a risk of lower or slower uptake due to various factors that may differ among biosimilars such as competitive practices, physician hesitancy to prescribe biosimilars for certain therapeutic areas, and level of financial incentives (payer or government). We anticipate that the downward pressure on uptake may ease in the future as physicians and payers become increasingly aware of the benefits of biosimilars and more comfortable prescribing them.
Our innovative medicines business faces intense competition from both innovative and generic pharmaceutical companies. Our innovative medicines business may continue to be affected by price reforms and changes in the political landscape. We believe that our primary competitive advantages include our commercial marketing teams, global R&D capabilities, the body of scientific evidence substantiating the safety and efficacy of our various medicines, our patient-centric solutions, physician and patient experience with our medicines and our medical capabilities, which are tailored to our product offerings, regional and local markets and the needs of our stakeholders.
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Human Capital Management
Our People
Our employees are the heart of our Company. In the highly competitive pharmaceutical industry, it is imperative that we attract, develop and retain top talent on an ongoing basis. To do this, we seek to make Teva an inclusive, diverse and safe workplace, with meaningful compensation, benefits and wellbeing programs, and we offer training and leadership development programs that foster career growth.
Oversight
Our Human Resources and Compensation Committee, Compliance Committee and Board of Directors play key roles in overseeing culture and talent at Teva and devote time throughout the year to human capital strategy and execution in such areas as: inclusion and diversity, Company culture, employee engagement, training and development, recruiting and turnover, leadership development and succession planning. Management regularly updates our Board of Directors on internal metrics in these areas.
Employees
As of December 31, 2024, Teva’s global workforce consisted of 36,830 employees.
As a global company, we have employees in 57 countries around the world, representing a wide range of nationalities. In certain countries, we are party to collective bargaining agreements with certain groups of employees.
The following table presents our workforce headcount by employment type:
December 31,
The following table presents our workforce headcount by geographic area (excluding contractors)1:
December 31,
We monitor our employee turnover on an ongoing basis, as it is an important indicator in connection with our human capital management that informs our understanding of our retention, recruitment and talent engagement.
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Inclusion and Diversity
Teva’s Board of Directors and executive management view inclusion and diversity as important to our ability to innovate and grow our business, leveraging our diverse workforce to deliver on business excellence and innovation. We strive to create and sustain an inclusive and diverse work environment in furtherance of our business objectives.
We seek to foster an inclusive work environment that allows all people to express themselves and realize their full potential. Teva’s Position on Inclusion and Diversity outlines our commitment to establishing an enabling environment across all business units. Our Inclusion and Diversity (“I&D”) framework, governed by our I&D global team, provides a foundation for embedding I&D across our business. Our dedicated global I&D lead is responsible for the execution of the global I&D framework, including strategy and initiatives, partnerships and alignment of activities across regions and business units.
We are committed to pay equity at all levels and we conduct equitable pay research and report our findings annually in our ‘Healthy Future’ Sustainability Report. For example, in 2023, the most recent year for which findings are available, we conducted comprehensive equitable pay research among all of our employees, and found that among those in the same level, function/profession and location, we have no pay gap, paying women 0.01% more than men for base salaries. We take action to minimize any gaps identified during our annual rewards cycle. Because pay differences are often created when employees are hired into Teva or are promoted, we have worked with our talent acquisition team to introduce new tools and approaches to avoid pay differences during the offer stage.
In addition, we support a fair and inclusive hiring process for all employees. In 2024, we conducted a review of our talent acquisition process and modified elements to ensure it provides fair opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds. Our I&D global team monitors and assesses our I&D programs and efforts, using regular surveys to strengthen and adapt our programs, as needed. We seek to support our inclusive and diverse culture through employee resource groups (“ERGs”), mentoring programs and training, among other things.
In the U.S., the Teva Employee Resource Group Network represents several distinct ERGs, which have a key role in creating a culture of inclusion and bringing together employees with shared characteristics and life experiences to foster opportunities for networking, mentoring, collaboration, community outreach, career development, leadership training and cultural exchanges. Currently, our ERGs include groups for women, Black Heritage, Latinx, Abilities (individuals with disabilities), Veterans, and LGBTQ+.
In Israel, we partnered with several providers, including Co-Impact, to look beyond traditional recruitment efforts to increase integration of Arab populations.
In addition, we enhanced opportunities for learning and skills development on I&D-related topics through designated sessions to raise awareness, reduce bias and further integrate inclusive leadership among our people managers.
The following table presents percentage of our global employee population identifying as female and male, as of December 31, 2024:
Female Male
Total employees 47 % 53 %
Senior management 34 % 66 %
Health and Safety
The health and safety of our employees is critical to our ability to supply medicines to our patients. Our Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability Policy and global Environment Health and Safety Management
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System guide our employee health and safety practices. We have implemented this system, which often exceeds regulatory requirements, to provide a global standard of care.
As a result of the state of war declared in Israel in October 2023 and the ongoing military activity in the region, the health, safety and wellbeing of our Israel-based employees have been a top priority. We provided support through mental health professionals, training for managers, designated support groups, and initiatives to support our employees’ families. In addition, we increased support of an emergency supply of medicines to hospitals, pharmacies and patients and we donated products and are providing other humanitarian aid. In late 2023, we established Support the Soul (‘Metaplim BaNefesh’), a holistic, large-scale, long-term solution to support and care for Israel’s therapists so they can more effectively treat those impacted by the events of the war in Israel. Despite the circumstances, we maintained full business continuity with an uninterrupted supply of medicines.
Employee Career Growth, Training and Development
We invest in employee career growth and development at Teva. Our talent development programs benefit employees individually by providing them with the resources they need to enhance their professional and management abilities, develop leadership skills and achieve their career aspirations, which in turn helps us to remain competitive in our industry.
We maintain a range of learning resources to support employees of all levels in developing skills and contributing to Teva’s strategy, ultimately driving business performance. Much of our employee training is in-role, amplified by global online training and locally-tailored training modules to meet different challenges, help gain new leadership and essential skills and ensure compliance with our policies. In 2023, we introduced a new talent development system based on artificial intelligence (“AI”) capabilities to match employee skills with development opportunities across the company. By the end of 2024, we rolled out this capability to approximately 12,000 employees globally.
Our Teva Grow program for employees provides development in essential soft skills, success in a global setting and company knowledge. We also provide an extensive catalog of lessons from an online learning platform. For Teva managers, we refreshed our development programs to develop the skills, capabilities and mindset required of managers, taking into account our Pivot to Growth strategy.
We focus on succession planning through global talent review processes that identify and accelerate successors’ readiness to fill senior positions across Teva. In order to measure our success, we track the proportion of positions filled with internal successors and other related statistics.
Compensation, Benefits and Wellbeing
We provide competitive compensation, health and retirement programs for our employees. We offer variable pay in the form of bonuses and stock-based compensation for eligible employees and have one global annual bonus plan.
In 2024, we continued to focus on employee wellbeing. In addition to having our annual global wellbeing month dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of wellbeing, we leveraged practical tools and local programs to address the physical, financial, social and mental health needs of our employees and their families. We offer programs and initiatives that promote healthy nutrition, physical activity and mental wellbeing. For example, our organizations in many countries introduced or expanded employee assistance programs to cover psychological support and counseling for employees and their families. In addition, in the U.S., we launched a preventative medicine application. This application fuses AI technology with medical protocols and expertise to provide employees with health check-ups adapted to their age, health plan, location, risk factors and personal history.
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Employee Engagement and Satisfaction
We have been monitoring employee morale during this time in many ways, including by conducting our annual employee survey. In 2024, we achieved 87% response rate, an increase of 1% compared to 2023. Results of the survey show that employee satisfaction across the survey dimensions have generally remained stable. Employees feel connected with Teva’s purpose and values, are confident in Teva’s positive impact on society, and believe they are treated with respect. In addition, they feel they are able to be themselves at work, they are treated fairly regardless of personal background or characteristics, and that Teva promotes a culture of diversity and inclusiveness.
Management reviews the survey results closely to determine areas for improvement and creates action plans to address any gaps. Survey results are communicated to employees though global communications and town halls and shared with our Board of Directors.
Please see the section entitled “Healthy People” in our Teva 2023 Sustainability Report (which is located on our website) for more detailed information regarding our Human Capital programs and initiatives. Nothing on our website, including our 2023 ‘Healthy Future’ Sustainability Report or sections thereof, shall be deemed incorporated by reference into this Annual Report or any other filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Regulation
United States
Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration
All pharmaceutical manufacturers selling products in the United States are subject to extensive regulation by the United States federal government, principally by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and, to a lesser extent, by state and local governments. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FCDA”), the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) and other federal and state statutes and regulations govern or influence the development, manufacture, testing, safety, efficacy, labeling, approval, storage, distribution, recordkeeping, advertising, promotion, sale, import and export of our products. Our facilities are periodically inspected by the FDA, which has extensive enforcement powers over the activities of pharmaceutical manufacturers. Noncompliance with applicable requirements may result in fines, criminal penalties, civil injunction against shipment of products, recall and seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production, sale or import of products, refusal of the government to enter into supply contracts or to approve New Drug Applications (“NDAs”), Abbreviated New Drug Applications (“ANDAs”) or Biologics License Application (“BLAs”) and criminal prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”). The FDA also has the authority to deny or revoke approvals of marketing applications and the power to halt the operations of non-complying manufacturers. Any failure to comply with applicable FDA policies and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our operations.
FDA approval is required before any “new drug” (including generic versions of previously approved drugs) may be marketed, including new strengths, dosage forms and formulations of previously approved drugs. Applications for FDA approval must contain information relating to bioequivalence (for generics), safety, toxicity and efficacy (for new drugs), product formulation, raw material suppliers, stability, manufacturing processes, packaging, labeling and quality control. FDA procedures generally require that commercial manufacturing equipment be used to produce test batches for FDA approval. The FDA also requires validation of manufacturing processes so that a company may market new products. The FDA conducts pre-approval and post-approval reviews and plant inspections to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and to verify the quality and safety of products.
The federal CSA and its implementing regulations establish a closed system of controlled substance distribution for legitimate handlers. The CSA imposes registration, security, recordkeeping and reporting,
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storage, manufacturing, distribution, importation and other requirements upon legitimate handlers under the oversight of the DEA. The DEA categorizes drugs, substances, and certain chemicals used to make drugs into one of five schedules—Schedule I, II, III, IV, or V—depending on the drug’s acceptable medical use and the abuse or dependency potential. Facilities that manufacture, distribute, conduct chemical analysis, import or export any controlled substance must register annually with the DEA. The DEA performs an inspection of all entities requesting a DEA registration prior to issuing a controlled substance registration for review of the facility and material security, material handling procedures, record keeping, and reporting procedures. The DEA also performs cyclical inspections of all DEA registrants to review accountability, record keeping, and security. Failure to maintain compliance with applicable requirements, particularly as manifested in the loss or diversion of controlled substances, can result in enforcement action, such as civil penalties, refusal to renew necessary registrations or the initiation of proceedings to revoke those registrations. In certain circumstances, violations could lead to criminal prosecution.
The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (the “Hatch-Waxman Act”) established the procedures for obtaining FDA approval for generic drug products. This act also provides market exclusivity provisions that can delay the approval of certain NDAs and ANDAs. One such provision allows a five-year period of data exclusivity for NDAs containing new chemical entities and a three-year period of market exclusivity for NDAs (including different dosage forms) containing new clinical trial(s) essential to the approval of the application. The Orphan Drug Act grants seven years of exclusive marketing rights to a specific drug for treatment of a rare disease or condition. The FDCA defines “rare disease or condition” as one that either affects fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S., or for which a manufacturer has no reasonable expectation of recovering drug treatment research and development costs. Market exclusivity provisions are distinct from patent protections and apply equally to patented and non-patented drug products. Another provision of the Hatch-Waxman Act extends certain patents for up to five years as compensation for the reduction of effective life of the patent which resulted from time spent in clinical trials and the FDA review process.
Under the Hatch-Waxman Act, any company submitting an ANDA or an NDA under Section 505(b)(2) of the FDCA (i.e., an NDA that, similar to an ANDA, relies, in whole or in part, on FDA’s prior approval of another company’s drug product; also known as a “505(b)(2) application”) must make certain certifications with respect to the patent status of the drug for which it is seeking approval. In the event that such applicant plans to challenge the validity or enforceability of an existing listed patent or asserts that the proposed product does not infringe an existing listed patent, it files a “Paragraph IV” certification. In the case of ANDAs, the Hatch-Waxman Act provides for a potential 180-day period of generic exclusivity for the first company to file a “substantially complete” ANDA with a Paragraph IV certification. This filing triggers a regulatory process in which the FDA is required to delay the final approval of subsequently filed ANDAs containing Paragraph IV certifications until 180 days after the first commercial marketing. For both ANDAs and 505(b)(2) applications, when litigation is brought by the patent holder, in response to this Paragraph IV certification, the FDA generally may not approve the ANDA or 505(b)(2) application until the earlier of 30 months or a court decision finding the patent invalid, not infringed or unenforceable. Submission of an ANDA or a 505(b)(2) application with a Paragraph IV certification can result in protracted and expensive patent litigation.
Products manufactured outside the United States and marketed in the United States are subject to all of the above regulations, as well as to FDA, DEA and U.S. customs regulations at the port of entry. Products marketed outside the United States that are manufactured in the United States are additionally subject to various export statutes and regulations, as well as regulation by the country in which the products are to be sold.
Our products also include biopharmaceutical products that are comparable to brand-name biologics, as well as products that are approved as biosimilar versions of brand-name biological products. While regulations are still being developed by the FDA relating to the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (“BCPIA”), which created a statutory pathway for the approval of biosimilar versions of brand-name biological products. The BPCIA authorizes the FDA to approve “abbreviated” BLAs for products whose sponsors demonstrate biosimilarity to reference products previously approved under BLAs. Biosimilarity to an approved
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reference product requires, among other things, that there are no differences in route of administration, dosage, form and strength and conditions of use. The FDA may also separately determine whether biosimilar products are interchangeable with their reference products. To be interchangeable, a biosimilar product must have the same clinical result as the reference product. The BPCIA provides a framework for addressing potential patent infringement disputes. The FDA has issued multiple guidance documents to provide a roadmap for demonstrating the interchangeability and development of biosimilar products.
In September 2022, the FDA User Fee Reauthorization Act of 2022 (“FUFRA”) was enacted in the United States. The FUFRA authorizes the FDA to collect user fees from parties that submit drug, biosimilar or medical device product applications for review or that are named in approved applications as the sponsor of certain products through FDA fiscal year 2027. These fees are used by the FDA to support the product review process at the agency. Various fees must be paid by these manufacturers at different times, such as annually and with the submission of different types of applications. In return for this additional funding, the FDA has entered into agreements with each of the affected industries (known as the “user fee agreements”) that commit the agency to interacting with manufacturers and reviewing applications such as NDAs, ANDAs and BLAs in certain ways, and taking action on those applications at certain times. The agency is obligated to set specific timelines to communicate with companies, meet with company product sponsors during the review process and take action on their applications.
The Inflation Reduction Act and Certain Government Programs
The Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) of 2022 was signed into law in August 2022. The IRA restructures Medicare’s benefit design and requires manufacturers of certain drugs to engage in price setting discussions with Medicare, imposes rebates and discount requirements under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D, and replaces the Part D coverage gap discount program with a new discounting program. In particular, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) is directed to select a subset of medicines with the highest annual expenditures to Medicare Parts B and D that have been on the market for 9 years (or 13 years for biologics) without an available generic (or biosimilar) on the market. Drugs with an available generic or biosimilar, certain drugs that represent a limited portion of Medicare program spending, drugs with an orphan designation as their only FDA approved indication, and all plasma-derived products are exempt from the process. The law allows HHS to levy an excise tax and civil monetary penalties against non-compliant manufacturers or those who refuse to participate in the process. The CMS selected 10 Part D drugs for the first round in August 2024 which is expected to become effective commencing January 1, 2026. The second set of 15 Part D drugs selected by CMS was announced by CMS on January 17, 2025, which list included Teva’s Austedo and Austedo XR products. This initiates a price-setting process with CMS commencing June 2025, and the price set by the government is expected to become effective as of January 1, 2027. The drug price-setting program is currently subject to legal challenges, including by Teva. On January 15, 2025, Teva filed a lawsuit against CMS in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that CMS’s implementation of the Drug Price Negotiation Program portion of the IRA is arbitrary and contrary to the plain meaning of the statute, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), and is therefore unconstitutional. The IRA and the CMS’s price-setting program may undergo regulatory updates following the change in the U.S. federal administration.
The IRA also imposes rebate requirements on manufacturers of single-source generics and other drugs covered under Medicare Part B and Part D where the price increases of the drug outpace inflation. Multisource generics and all products with an average manufacturer’s price less than $100 per year, per individual, are exempt from these inflationary rebate requirements. The CMS will monitor for products with price increases higher than the rate of inflation on a quarterly basis. Rebates will be calculated as the total number of units sold multiplied by the amount the product exceeds the inflation-adjusted price, with 2021 as the base year to measure cumulative changes relative to inflation. Noncompliant manufacturers will be subject to a civil monetary penalty of at least 125% of the calculated rebate amount.
The CMS administers the Medicaid drug rebate program, in which pharmaceutical manufacturers pay quarterly rebates to each state Medicaid agency. Generally, for generic drugs marketed under ANDAs,
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manufacturers (including Teva) are required to rebate 13% of the average manufacturer price, and for products marketed under NDAs or BLAs, manufacturers are required to rebate the greater of 23.1% of the average manufacturer price or the difference between such price and the commercial best price during a specified period. An additional rebate for products marketed under ANDAs, NDAs or BLAs is payable if the average manufacturer price increases at a rate higher than inflation and other methodologies apply to new formulations of existing drugs.
The incoming U.S. administration may propose policy changes to the Public Health Service’s 340B drug pricing program (the “340B program”) administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”) that create additional uncertainty for Teva’s business. These may include changes to the level of scrutiny applied by HRSA to enforce any perceived 340B program noncompliance or impose restrictions on manufacturers as to how manufacturers administer their 340B pricing, and what requirements manufacturers can impose on 340B covered entities. Some regulatory restrictions by HRSA are currently subject to legal challenges and may undergo regulatory updates following administration changes or court decisions. Additionally, state legislators may also enact such similar laws and regulations. Some states have already enacted such laws and regulations, which are currently subject to legal challenges.
All state Medicaid programs have implemented voluntary supplemental drug rebate programs that may provide states with additional manufacturer rebates in exchange for preferred status on a state’s formulary or for patient populations that are not included in the traditional Medicaid drug benefit coverage. In addition, a number of states, including New York, have enacted legislation that requires entities to pay assessments or taxes on the sale or distribution of opioid medications in order to address the misuse of prescription opioid medications. Finally, a number of states have established Prescription Drug Affordability Boards or similar review boards and implemented IRA-like price controls on pharmaceutical manufacturers. These proposals create new authorities for state regulatory bodies to control prices and/or limit reimbursement for certain drugs. Such efforts may expand to additional states.
Other U.S. Healthcare Laws and Compliance Requirements
In the United States, our current and future operations are subject to regulation by various federal, state and local authorities in addition to the FDA, including but not limited to, CMS, other divisions of the HHS, (e.g., the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) and the Health Resources and Service Administration (“HRSA”)), the DOJ, and individual U.S. Attorney offices within the DOJ, and state and local governments. For example, our business practices, including our contractual arrangements and any future sales, marketing and scientific or educational grant programs may be required to comply with federal fraud and abuse laws, transparency requirements, and similar state laws, each as amended, as applicable. Such laws include, without limitation, state and federal fraud and abuse laws, including the federal Antikickback Statute (“AKS”), federal False Claims Act (“FCA”), and transparency laws and regulations related to drug pricing and payments and other transfers of value made to physicians and other healthcare providers.
If our operations are found to be in violation of any such laws or any other governmental regulations that apply, we may be subject to penalties, including, without limitation, administrative, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, integrity oversight and reporting obligations, exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs and responsible individuals may be subject to imprisonment. The civil monetary penalties statute imposes penalties against any person or entity who, among other things, is determined to have presented or caused to be presented a claim to, among others, a federal healthcare program that the person knows or should know is for a medical or other item or service that was not provided as claimed or is false or fraudulent.
Additionally, the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act (the “Sunshine Act”), and its implementing regulations, require that certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biological and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (with certain
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exceptions) report information related to certain payments or other transfers of value made or distributed to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), certain non-physician practitioners (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners), and teaching hospitals, or to entities or individuals at the request of, or designated on behalf of, the physicians and teaching hospitals and to report annually to CMS certain ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members. Failure to report accurately could result in penalties. In addition, many states also govern the reporting of payments or other transfers of value, many which differ from each other in significant ways, are often not pre-empted, and may have a more prohibitive effect than the Sunshine Act, thus further complicating compliance efforts.
Europe
General
In Europe, marketing authorizations for pharmaceutical products may be obtained either through a centralized procedure for a license valid in all member countries of the European Union, which is granted by the EMA, or through national procedures granted by the national competent authorities via a mutual recognition procedure which requires submission of applications in other chosen member states following approval by a so-called reference member state, a decentralized procedure that entails simultaneous submission of applications to chosen member states or occasionally through a local national procedure.
During 2022, we continued to register products in the European Union, primarily using the decentralized procedure (simultaneous submission of applications to chosen member states). We continue to use, on occasion, the mutual recognition and centralized procedures.
The European pharmaceutical industry is highly regulated and much of the legislative and regulatory framework is driven by the European Commission, together with the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. This has many benefits, including the potential to harmonize standards across the complex European market, but it also has the potential to create complexities affecting the entire European market.
European Union
The medicines regulatory framework of the European Union requires that medicinal products, including generic versions of previously approved products and new strengths, dosage forms and formulations of previously approved products, receive a marketing authorization before they can be placed on the market in the European Union. Authorizations are granted after a favorable assessment of quality, safety and efficacy by the respective health authorities. To comply with formal requirements, the application must contain the quality related information of the product (chemical, physical, biological and microbiological data, information about manufacturing process, raw materials, packaging and labelling data, quality control procedures), data confirming product safety (toxicological and pharmacological information), and product efficacy information (clinical studies or clinical trials).
In order to control expenditures on pharmaceuticals, most member states of the European Union regulate the pricing of such products and in some cases limit the range of different forms of a drug available for prescription by national health services. These controls can result in considerable price differences among member states.
In addition to patent protection, exclusivity provisions in the European Union may prevent companies from applying for marketing approval for a generic product for eight years (or 10 years for orphan medicinal products) from the date of the first marketing authorization of the original product in the European Union. Further, the generic product will be barred from market entry (marketing exclusivity) for a further two years, with the possibility of extending the market exclusivity by one additional year under certain circumstances. As part of the European Commission’s review of the general pharmaceutical legislation, the provisions relating to regulatory exclusivity are currently under review. Proposed changes have been published in 2023 and amendments are being discussed. The implementation date and transitional provisions remain unclear.
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The term of certain pharmaceutical patents may be extended in the European Union by up to five years upon grant of Supplementary Protection Certificates (“SPC”). The purpose of this extension is to increase effective patent life (i.e., the period between grant of a marketing authorization and patent expiration) to 15 years.
Subject to the respective pediatric regulation, the holder of an SPC may obtain a further patent term extension of up to six months under certain conditions. This six-month period cannot be claimed if the license holder claims a one-year extension of the period of marketing exclusivity based on the grounds that a new pediatric indication brings a significant clinical benefit in comparison with other existing therapies.
In July 2019, the SPC Manufacturing Waiver Regulation came into force in the European Union (subject to certain conditions) allowing products manufactured prior to SPC expiration to be exempt from SPC infringement if such products are manufactured for export to non-European Union markets or (no earlier than six months before SPC expiry) for launch in the European Union upon expiration of the SPC. This waiver applies from July 2, 2022 to all SPCs that came into effect after July 1, 2019 or, if the SPC was applied for after July 1, 2019, from the date the SPC comes into effect. This legislation was due to be reviewed prior to July 2024, but the review has been delayed.
Orphan designated products, which receive, under certain conditions, a blanket period of 10 years of market exclusivity, may receive an additional two years of exclusivity instead of an extension of the SPC if the requirements of the pediatric regulation are met. The criteria and protection period for orphan designated products are currently under review by the European Commission, as part of the review of the general pharmaceutical legislation referred to above.
The legislation also allows for R&D work during the patent and SPC term for the purpose of developing and submitting registration dossiers.
In November 2020 the European Commission published a “Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe,” which sets out a suite of policies that will shape the future European regulatory environment. These wide-ranging policies represent a multi-year program aimed, through review and revision of existing legislation, to provide a flexible regulatory system that, amongst other things, will lead to accelerated availability of medicines and promote sustainability of that system.
On June 1, 2023, the Unified Patent Court (“UPC”) Agreement and the unitary patent regulations entered into force. The UPC is a new European court with jurisdiction over disputes relating to European patents and currently covers 18 European Union participating Member States. During an initial transitional period ending in 2030 (which may be extended to 2037), both the UPC and national courts have jurisdiction over infringement or invalidity actions relating to European patents, unless the patentee has opted-out the patent from the jurisdiction of the UPC. After the transitional period, the UPC will have exclusive competence for disputes relating to European patents, without a possibility to opt-out. The unitary patent regulations introduced a new option for applicants at the European patent office to request the grant of a European patent with unitary effect over the 18 European Union participating Member States (instead of the traditional combination of national designations).
United Kingdom
On December 31, 2020, the United Kingdom formally left the European Union (also known as “Brexit”). As a result of Brexit, the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) relocated its headquarters from London to Amsterdam. Following Brexit, the United Kingdom now regulates generic drugs and medical devices independently from the European Union. In the United Kingdom, while the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) handles the approval process and regulatory compliance requirements for products supplied to United Kingdom patients, the MHRA’s regulatory process still generally follows those of the EMA. Although certain regulatory and technical challenges remain, we continue to have processes and contingencies in place to minimize their impact, and to maintain our ability to supply medicines to patients in the United Kingdom, and to supply medicines made in the United Kingdom to other markets.
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Medical Devices
Although not subject to FDA regulation as standalone medical devices, certain of our products are regulated as medical devices in the European Union. In 2017, the European Union adopted the European Union Medical Device Regulation (“EU MDR”), replacing the prior European Union Medical Device Directive (“EU MDD”) framework. The EU MDR specifies new risk classification rules, as well as changes to clinical studies, post-marketing surveillance, device traceability and oversight by notified bodies. The EU MDR became applicable on May 26, 2021. Transitional provisions (which were extended in early 2023) apply to the marketing of devices certified under the MDD under certain conditions and depending on the device’s risk classification. In the U.K., the EU MDD, as adopted into U.K. law, remains applicable to all medical devices, although new UK legislation relating to medical devices is expected in 2025.
International Markets
In addition to regulations in the United States and Europe, we, and our partners, are subject to a variety of regulations in other jurisdictions governing, among other things, clinical trials and any commercial sales, marketing and distribution of our products. Such regulations may be similar or, in some cases, more stringent than those applicable in the United States and Europe.
Whether or not we, or our partners, obtain FDA approval for a product, we must obtain the requisite approvals from regulatory authorities in foreign countries prior to the commencement of clinical trials or marketing of such product in those countries. The requirements and processes governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary from country to country. In addition, we, and our partners, may be subject to foreign laws and regulations and other compliance requirements, including, without limitation, anti-kickback laws, false claims laws and other fraud and abuse laws, as well as laws and regulations requiring transparency of pricing and marketing information and governing the privacy and security of personal information. The majority of the countries in which we market our products have enacted and/or amended privacy regulation. We and our partners are implementing measures as needed to comply with such privacy requirements.
If we, or our partners, fail to comply with applicable foreign regulatory requirements, we may be subject to, among other things, fines, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecution.
Miscellaneous Regulatory Matters
We are subject to various national, regional and local laws of general applicability, such as laws regulating working conditions. We are also subject to country specific data protection laws and regulations applicable to the collection and processing of personal data around the world. In addition, we are subject to various national, regional and local environmental protection laws and regulations, including those governing ESG related matters, such as mandatory reporting and due diligence obligations. We are also subject to various national, regional and local laws regulating how we interact with healthcare professionals and representatives of government that impact our promotional and other commercial activities. Additionally, we may be subject to various new national, regional and local laws and regulations, such as the NIS2 Directive, the Cyber Resilience Act, the Digital Services Act, the Data Act, the Data Governance Act, the California Climate Corporate Date Accountability Act, the California Climate-Related Financial Risk Act, the EU’s Directive No. 2464/2022 on Corporate Sustainability Reporting (“CSRD”), the European Health Data Space or the revision of the European Pharmaceutical Legislation (both not yet agreed), which could impact our business activities and processes. Many countries outside the EU have enacted cybersecurity laws, which laws may relate to Teva depending on the circumstances.
Data exclusivity provisions exist in many countries around the world and may be introduced in additional countries in the future, although their application is not uniform. In general, these exclusivity provisions prevent
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the approval and/or submission of generic drug applications to the health authorities for a fixed period of time following the first approval of the brand-name product in that country. As these exclusivity provisions operate independently of patent exclusivity, they may prevent the submission of generic drug applications for some products even after the patent protection has expired.
In July 2020, the European Court of Justice in a case known as “Schrems II”, invalidated the adequacy of the EU-US Privacy Shield Certification Programme under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and called into question the framework in which personal data can be transferred from the EU to outside the EU. As a result, companies are required to conduct and document comprehensive data transfer assessments, and if supplementary measures cannot address an adequate level of protection, then such transfers shall be restricted. In July 2023, the European Commission determined that the Data Privacy Framework (“DPF”), a replacement for the invalidated EU-US Privacy Shield, ensures an adequate level of protection for EU personal data transferred to the United States. Today, many other countries outside the EU are also implementing their own personal data transfer framework, and as such we continue to monitor global developments to address requirements regarding international data transfers. On August 1, 2024, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 came into force, which regulates companies’ use of artificial intelligence systems. We have already begun to prepare for implementation once the relevant provisions come into force and are continuously monitoring further regulatory developments in the area both within the EU and in other jurisdictions. Many countries outside the EU have started working on local laws, or issued administrative measures, frameworks or guidance related to the use of artificial intelligence.
In the United States, the legislative and regulatory landscape for data privacy and protection continues to evolve with an increasing focus on privacy and data protection issues. There are numerous federal and state laws and regulations governing the collection, use, processing and protection of personal data. Most states have data security breach laws requiring data protection measures and potentially requiring notification to regulators and impacted consumers.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (collectively, “HIPAA”) mandates the adoption of specific standards for electronic transactions and code sets that are used to transmit certain types of health information. HIPAA also sets forth federal rules protecting the privacy and security of protected health information (“PHI”). The law provides both criminal and civil fines and penalties for covered entities that fail to comply with HIPAA. In 2009, the law was amended to impose certain of the HIPAA privacy and security requirements directly upon business associates of covered entities and significantly increased the monetary penalties for violations of HIPAA. We have established administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of PHI to the extent we are subject to HIPAA maintained or transmitted by such entities.
Numerous states have or are in the process of enacting state level consumer privacy laws and regulations governing the collection, use and processing of personal data. Additionally, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) as amended established a privacy framework for covered businesses by creating an expanded definition of personal information, establishing new data privacy rights for consumers in the State of California, imposing special rules on the collection of consumer data from minors, and creating a new and potentially severe statutory damages framework for violations of the CCPA and for businesses that fail to implement reasonable security procedures and practices to prevent data breaches. Further, the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), effective January 1, 2023 (with certain provisions having retroactive effect to January 1, 2022), creates additional obligations with respect to processing and storing personal information. While clinical trial data and information governed by HIPAA are currently exempt from the current versions of the CCPA and CPRA, other personal information may be applicable and possible changes to the CCPA and CPRA may broaden its scope.
Some states have or in the process of enacting state consumer health information privacy laws (e.g., Washington’s My Health My Data Act) requiring protection of state residents’ health information not protected
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by HIPAA and potentially requiring reporting to state regulators with respect to our health and patient information privacy governance and practices.
In October 2015, the European Commission adopted regulations providing detailed rules for the safety features appearing on the packaging of medicinal products for human use. This legislation, part of the Falsified Medicines Directive (“FMD”), is intended to prevent counterfeit medicines entering into the supply chain and will allow wholesale distributors and others who supply medicines to the public to verify the authenticity of the medicine at the level of the individual pack. The safety features comprise a unique identifier and a tamper-evident seal on the outer packaging, which are to be applied to certain categories of medicines. FMD is effective as of February 2019. Teva’s packaging sites, distribution centers and contract manufacturing operators (“CMOs”) for the European market comply with this new requirement.
In November 2013, the federal Drug Supply Chain Security Act (the “DSCSA”) became effective in the United States, mandating an industry-wide, electronic, interoperable system to trace prescription drugs through the pharmaceutical distribution supply chain with a ten-yearphase-in process. By November 2018, all manufacturers and re-packagers were required to mark each prescription drug package with a unique serialized code. Per the enhanced drug distribution security section of DSCSA, manufacturers were required by November 2023 to have systems and processes in place to verify product at the package level and electronically provide package level serial number details to downstream trading partners. Although the FDA announced additional extensions and periods of enforcement discretion in August 2023 and October 2024, Teva’s packing sites, distribution centers and CMOs for the U.S. market comply with the requirements. Additionally, in February 2019, the EU enacted the Falsified Medicines Directive (“FMD”), traceability requirements for drug products, which Teva complies with as well. Other countries are following suit with variations of two main requirements: (i) to be able to associate the unit data with the uniquely-identified shipping package, or (ii) to report the data for tracking and tracing of products, reimbursements and other purposes. Certain countries, such as Russia, China, Korea, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil and India (for exported products), already have laws mandating serialization and aggregation and we are working to comply with these requirements. Other countries, including India (for domestic market), Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Ukraine and other Latin American countries are currently considering mandating similar requirements.
Available Information
Our main corporate website address is http://www.tevapharm.com. Copies of our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Annual Report on Form 10-K and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and any amendments to the foregoing, will be provided without charge to any shareholder submitting a written request to our company secretary at our principal executive offices or by sending an email to TevaIR@tevapharm.com. All of our SEC filings are also available on our website at http://www.tevapharm.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after having been electronically filed or furnished to the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov. The information on our website is not, and will not be deemed, a part of this report or incorporated into any other filings we make with the SEC. We also file our annual reports and other information with the Israeli Securities Authority through its fair disclosure electronic system called MAGNA. You may review these filings on the website of the MAGNA system operated by the Israeli Securities Authority at www.magna.isa.gov.il or on the website of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (the “TASE”) at www.tase.co.il.
Our 2024 ESG Progress report, which will provide enhanced ESG disclosures, is expected to be published in April 2025. Information in our ESG Progress Report shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into this Annual Report or any other filing with the SEC.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our business faces significant risks. You should carefully consider all of the information set forth in this Annual Report and in our other filings with the SEC, including the following risk factors which we face and which are faced by our industry. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. This report also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our results could materially differ from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors including the risks described below and elsewhere in this report and our other SEC filings. For a summary of the risk factors included in this Item 1A and for further details on our forward-looking statements, see “Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factor Summary” on page 1.
Risks related to our ability to successfully compete in the marketplace
Sales of our generic medicines comprise a significant portion of our business, and we are subject to the significant risks associated with the generic pharmaceutical business.
Sales of our generic medicines have historically represented and are expected to continue to represent a significant portion of our business. In 2024, total revenues from sales of our generic medicines in all our business segments were $9,461 million, or 57.2% of our total revenues. As part of our Pivot to Growth strategy, we are focusing on a prioritized portfolio and pipeline of high-value generics opportunities. However, generic pharmaceuticals are generally less profitable than innovative medicines, and have faced price erosion in each of our business segments, placing even greater importance on our ability to continually introduce new products. Although we intend to invest in the development of more complex, high-value generic products such as drug device combinations and long-acting injectables, there is no assurance as to when we will be successful in achieving our expected results, if at all.
We also expect to continue to experience significant adverse challenges in the U.S. generics market deriving from limitations on our ability to influence generic medicine pricing in the long term and a decrease in value from future launches and growth. If we experience further difficulty in this market, this may continue to adversely affect our revenues and profits from our United States business segment or cause us to recognize one or more goodwill impairments relating to this reporting unit.
Sales of our generic products may be adversely affected by the concentration of our customer base and commercial alliances among our customers.
A significant portion of our sales are made to relatively few U.S. retail drug chains, wholesalers, managed care purchasing organizations, mail order distributors and hospitals. These customers have undergone significant consolidation and formed various commercial alliances, which may continue to increase the pricing pressures that we face in the United States. The presence of large buying groups, and the prevalence and influence of managed care organizations and similar institutions, have increased pressure on price, as well as terms and conditions required to do business. In the United States, several large buying groups account for the majority of generics purchases, enabling each of them with significant bargaining power. Additionally, our customers may form commercial alliances which result in heightened pricing pressure and competition in the markets in which we operate. For example, several major hospital systems in the United States formed a nonprofit company in 2018 to manufacture their own generic medicines. We expect the trend of pricing pressures from our customers and price erosion to continue.
Our sales may also be affected by fluctuations in the buying patterns of our significant customers, whether resulting from seasonality, pricing, wholesaler buying decisions or other factors. In addition, since a significant portion of our U.S. revenues is derived from relatively few key customers, any financial difficulties experienced by a single key customer, any delay in receiving payments from such a customer, or any significant reduction in or loss of business with such a customer could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For a description of our net sales from our major customers, see note 19 to our consolidated financial statements.
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Our revenues and profits from generic products may decline as a result of competition from other pharmaceutical companies and changes in regulatory policy.
Our generic drugs face intense competition. Prices of generic drugs may, and often do, decline, sometimes dramatically, especially as additional generic pharmaceutical companies receive approvals and enter the market for a given product and competition intensifies. Consequently, our ability to sustain our sales and profitability on any given product over time is affected by the number of companies selling competitive products, including new market entrants, and the timing of their approvals. For example, although in 2024, the majority of the increase in revenues in our U.S. generics business were driven by higher revenues from lenalidomide capsules (the generic version of Revlimid®), this trend may not continue due to the intense competition expected in the coming years. The goals established under the Generic Drug User Fee Act, and increased funding of the FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs, have led to more and faster generic approvals, and consequently increased competition for some of our products. The FDA has stated that it has established new steps to enhance competition, promote access and lower drug prices and is approving increasing numbers of generic applications. While these FDA initiatives are expected to benefit our generic product pipeline, they will also benefit competitors that seek to launch products in established generic markets where we currently offer products. In recent years, there has also been an increase in the number of generic manufacturers targeting significant new generic opportunities with exclusivity under the Hatch-Waxman Act, or which are complex to develop. Many of the smaller generic manufacturers have increased their capabilities, level of sophistication and development resources in recent years. The FDA has also been limiting the availability of exclusivity periods for new products, which reduces the economic benefit from being first-to-file for generic approvals. For example, the 180-day market exclusivity period under the Hatch-Waxman Act for a new product can be forfeited by failure to obtain approval or to launch a product within a specified time or if certain conditions exist, some of which may be outside our control. The failure to maintain our industry-leading performance in the United States on first-to-file opportunities and to develop and commercialize high complexity generic products could adversely affect our sales and profitability.
Furthermore, brand pharmaceutical companies continue to manage products in a challenging environment through marketing agreements with payers, pharmacy benefits managers and generic manufacturers. For example, brand companies often sell or license their own generic versions of their products, known as “authorized generics,” either directly or through other generic pharmaceutical companies. No significant regulatory approvals are required for authorized generics, and brand companies do not face any other significant barriers to entry into such market. Brand companies may seek to delay introductions of generic equivalents through a variety of commercial and regulatory tactics. Many pharmaceutical companies increasingly have used state and federal legislative and regulatory means to delay generic (including biosimilar) competition. These efforts have included pursuing new patents for existing products to extend patent protection; obtaining new regulatory exclusivities; selling the brand product as their own authorized generics; using the Citizen Petition process to request amendments to FDA standards or otherwise delay generic (or biosimilar) drug approvals; seeking changes to U.S. Pharmacopeia, an organization which publishes industry recognized compendia of drug standards; using the legislative and regulatory process to have drugs reclassified or rescheduled; attaching patent extension amendments to unrelated federal legislation; and entering into agreements with pharmacy benefit management companies to block the dispensing of generic (including biosimilar) products. These actions may increase the costs and risks of our efforts to introduce generic products and may delay or prevent such introduction altogether.
In addition, the U.S. Congress and various state legislatures in the United States have passed, or have proposed passing, legislation that could have an adverse impact on pharmaceutical manufacturers’ ability to (i) settle litigation initiated pursuant to the Hatch-Waxman Act and Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (“BPCIA”); (ii) secure the full benefit of first-to-file regulatory approval status secured under the Hatch-Waxman Act; and (iii) recover their investments into the development of an innovative, generic or biosimilar product. Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA create various pathways for generic drug manufacturers to secure accelerated approvals of their abbreviated new drug applications and abbreviated biologics license applications. The new laws and proposals from the federal and state governments could serve to change, directly
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and indirectly, the Hatch-Waxman Act and BPCIA, including the incentives to develop generic and biosimilar products, as well as the ability of generic manufacturers to accelerate the launch of their new generic and biosimilar products. They also could impact the ability of brand manufacturers to protect their investments in the intellectual property associated with their branded specialty and innovative biologic products.
Additionally, pharmaceutical pricing reforms in the United States have also been introduced through the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”), which could lead to greater pricing pressures on our products. For more information, see “—Risks related to compliance, regulation and litigation—Our operations are subject to complex legal and regulatory environments.” If we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations we may suffer legal consequences that may have a material effect on our business, operations or reputation.
In the European Union, certain exclusivity provisions may prevent companies from applying for marketing approval for a generic product for a certain amount of years, and further, the generic product will be barred from market entry (marketing exclusivity) for an additional two years, which may be extended by a year in certain circumstances. See “Item 1—Business—Regulation” for more information.
We continue to monitor these legislative developments and evaluate whether any changes to our business practices and operations are necessary in order to comply with such legislative reforms and advocate for policies that support both innovation and access to high quality medicines for patients. However, we cannot accurately predict the ultimate impact of such legislative developments on our business or whether additional changes in regulatory policies will occur in the future.
We have experienced, and may continue to experience, delays in launches of our new generic products.
Although we believe we have one of the most extensive pipelines of generic products in the industry, we have in the past been unable to successfully execute a number of generic launches and may face similar challenges in the future. As a result of delays in the timing of launches, we may not be able to realize the economic benefits anticipated in connection with our planned launch timing. If we cannot execute timely launches of new products, we may not be able to offset the increasing price erosion on existing products in the United States resulting from pricing pressures and accelerated generics approvals for competing products. Such unsuccessful launches can be caused by many factors, including, delays in regulatory approvals, lack of operational or clinical readiness or patent litigation. Failure or delays to execute launches of new generic products could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be unable to take advantage of the increasing number of high-value biosimilars opportunities.
We aim to be a global leader in biopharmaceuticals. As part of our Pivot to Growth strategy, we have been capitalizing on our late-stage pipeline of biosimilar products. The development, manufacture and commercialization of biosimilar products require specialized expertise and are very costly and subject to complex evolving regulation. Due to the complex process and significant financial and other resources required to develop biosimilars, obstacles and delays, including budget constraints, may arise, which increase the cost of development or force us to abandon a potential product in which we may have invested substantial amounts of time and resources. We have made and will continue to make significant investments and collaborations to capitalize on biosimilar opportunities. However, the market for biosimilar products, in particular for key lifecycle products, is facing increasingly intense competition, including from new market entrants, growing pricing pressures, as well as from existing innovative products that maintain a significant market share, and there is no assurance that we will be able to successfully capitalize on biosimilar opportunities. Failure to develop and commercialize biosimilars, either by us or through collaborations with third parties, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
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Our innovative medicines face intense competition from companies that have greater resources and capabilities and we must make significant investments in our pipeline of innovative medicines to address such competition, which may not achieve expected results.
We face intense competition to our innovative medicines. As part of our Pivot to Growth strategy, we have been focused on delivering on our growth engines, mainly AUSTEDO, AJOVY and UZEDY, and stepping up the innovation of our late-stage innovative pipeline assets. However, many of our competitors are larger and/or have substantially more experience in the development, acquisition and marketing of branded, innovative and consumer-oriented products. They may be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging market preferences or to devote greater resources to the development and marketing of new products and/or technologies than we can. As a result, any products and/or innovations that we develop may become obsolete or noncompetitive before we can recover the expenses incurred in connection with their development. In addition, we must demonstrate the benefits of our products relative to competing products that are often more familiar or otherwise better established to physicians, patients and third-party payers. If competitors introduce new products or new variations on their existing products, our marketed products, even those protected by patents, may be replaced in the marketplace or we may be required to lower our prices. For example, the following may have a significant effect on our financial results and cash flow:
In order to remain competitive, we must invest significant resources to expand our pipeline for innovative medicines and biosimilars, both through our own efforts and through collaborations with, and in-licensing or acquisition of products from, third parties. We have entered into, and expect to pursue, in-licensing, acquisition, collaboration, funding and partnership opportunities to supplement and expand our existing innovative medicines and biosimilar pipeline, such as our collaborations with Alvotech, Modag, Sanofi, Royalty Pharma, Biolojic, Launch Therapeutics and mAbxience. However, there is no assurance that such collaborations will achieve the results we expect and we or our counterparties could fail to perform the obligations thereunder, including due to the failure to obtain regulatory approvals and increasing competition, pricing pressures and other financial constraints.
Furthermore, the development of innovative medicines involves lengthier and more complex processes and greater expertise and resources than those used in the development of generic medicines. For example, the time from discovery to commercial launch of an innovative medicine can be 15 years or more and involves multiple
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stages, including intensive preclinical and clinical testing and highly complex, lengthy and expensive regulatory approval processes, which vary from country to country. The longer it takes to develop a new product, the less time that remains to recover development costs and generate profits. During each stage, we may encounter obstacles that delay the development process and increase expenses, potentially forcing us to abandon a potential product in which we may have invested substantial amounts of time and resources. These obstacles may include preclinical failures, difficulty enrolling patients in clinical trials, delays in completing formulation and other work needed to support an application for approval, adverse reactions or other safety concerns arising during clinical testing, insufficient clinical trial data to support the safety or efficacy of the product candidate, widespread supply chain breakdowns, delays as a result of new requirements implemented by health authorities such as the U.S. FDA and EMA requirement on material use, and delays or failures to obtain required regulatory approvals for the product candidate or the facilities in which it is manufactured. In addition, our innovative medicines require much greater use of a direct sales force than does our generics business. Our ability to realize revenues from direct marketing and sales activities depends on our ability to attract and retain qualified sales personnel. Competition for qualified sales personnel is intense. We may also need to enter into co-promotion, contract sales force or other such arrangements with third parties, for example, where our own direct sales force is not large enough or sufficiently well-aligned to achieve maximum market penetration. Any failure to attract or retain qualified sales personnel or to enter into third-party arrangements on favorable terms could prevent us from successfully maintaining current sales levels or commercializing new innovative medicines.
If generic or biosimilar products that compete with any of our innovative medicines are approved and sold, sales of our innovative medicines will be adversely affected.
Certain of our leading innovative medicines face patent challenges and impending patent expirations and some have recently become susceptible to generic competition, such as TREANDA in 2022. Generic equivalents and biosimilars for branded pharmaceutical products are typically sold at lower costs than the branded products. After the introduction of a competing generic product, a significant percentage of the prescriptions previously written for the branded product are often written for the generic version. Legislation enacted in most U.S. states allows or, in some instances, mandates that a pharmacist dispense an available generic equivalent (or interchangeable biosimilar) when filling a prescription for a branded product in the absence of specific instructions from the prescribing physician. Branded products typically experience a significant loss in revenues following the introduction of a competing generic (or biosimilar) product, even if the branded product is still subject to an existing patent since generic manufacturers may offer generic (or biosimilar) products while patent litigation is pending. Our innovative medicines are or may become subject to competition from generic equivalents because our patent protection expired or may expire soon. In addition, we may not be successful in our efforts to obtain additional patent protection for our innovative medicines through the development and commercialization of proprietary product improvements and new and enhanced dosage forms.
Our success depends on our ability to develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical products.
Our financial results depend upon our ability to develop and commercialize additional innovative, biosimilar and generic products in a timely manner. Commercialization requires that we successfully develop, test and manufacture pharmaceutical products. All of our products must receive regulatory approval and meet, and continue to comply with, regulatory and safety standards; if health or safety concerns arise with respect to a product, we may be forced to withdraw it from the market. Developing and commercializing additional pharmaceutical products is also subject to difficulties relating to the availability, on commercially reasonable terms, of raw materials, including API and other key ingredients; preclusion from commercialization by the proprietary rights of others; the costs of manufacture and commercialization; costly legal actions brought by our competitors that may delay or prevent development or commercialization of a new product; and delays and costs associated with the approval process of the FDA and other U.S. and international regulatory agencies.
The development and commercialization process, particularly with respect to innovative medicines and biosimilar medicines, as well as complex generic medicines that we increasingly focus on, is both time-
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consuming and costly, and involves a high degree of business risk. Our products currently under development, if and when fully developed and tested, may not perform as we expect. Necessary regulatory approvals may not be obtained in a timely manner, if at all, and we may not be able to produce and market such products successfully and profitably. Delays in any part of the process or our inability to obtain regulatory approval of our products could adversely affect our operating results by restricting or delaying our introduction of new products.
We depend on the effectiveness of our patents, confidentiality agreements and other measures to protect our intellectual property rights.
The success of our innovative medicines business depends substantially on our ability to obtain patents and to defend our intellectual property rights. If we fail to protect our intellectual property adequately, competitors may manufacture and market products identical or similar to ours. We have been issued numerous patents covering our innovative medicines, and have filed, and expect to continue to file, patent applications seeking to protect newly developed technologies and products in various countries, including the United States. Currently pending patent applications may not result in issued patents or be approved on a timely basis or at all. Any existing or future patents issued to or licensed by us may not provide us with any competitive advantages for our products or may be challenged or circumvented by competitors or governments.
Efforts to defend the validity of our patents are expensive and time-consuming, and there can be no assurance that such efforts will be successful. Our ability to enforce our patents also depends on the laws of individual countries and each country’s practices regarding the enforcement of intellectual property rights and may also be impacted by regulatory actions taken by governmental authorities that affect our ability to use and maintain our intellectual property rights. The loss of patent protection or regulatory exclusivity on innovative medicines, including potential challenges to our Orange Book patent listings in the United States, could materially impact our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
We also rely on trade secrets, unpatented proprietary know-how, trademarks, regulatory exclusivity and continuing technological innovation that we seek to protect, in part by confidentiality agreements with licensees, suppliers, employees and consultants. These measures may not provide adequate protection for our unpatented technology. If these agreements are breached, it is possible that we will not have adequate remedies. Disputes may arise concerning the ownership of intellectual property or the applicability of confidentiality agreements. Furthermore, our trade secrets and proprietary technology may otherwise become known or be independently developed by our competitors or we may not be able to maintain the confidentiality of information relating to such products. If we are unable to adequately protect our technology, trade secrets or proprietary know-how, or enforce our intellectual property rights, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could suffer.
Risks related to our significant indebtedness
We have significant debt outstanding, which requires significant interest and principal payments, requires compliance with certain covenants and restricts our ability to incur additional indebtedness or engage in other transactions.
As of December 31, 2024, we have consolidated debt of $17,783 million outstanding, compared to $19,833 million outstanding as of December 31, 2023. The cash required to finance our interest and principal payment obligations under such debt reduces the cash available to fund our capital expenditures and grow our business and reduces our flexibility to respond to changes in economic and industry conditions. If we are unable to meet our debt service and other financial obligations, we could be forced to restructure or refinance our indebtedness, seek additional debt or equity capital or sell assets. We may be unable to obtain such financing or capital or sell our assets on satisfactory terms, if at all. Any refinancing of our indebtedness could be at significantly higher interest rates, incur significant transaction fees or include more restrictive covenants. See “Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity” and note 9 to our consolidated financial statements for a detailed discussion of our outstanding indebtedness.
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Our unsecured syndicated sustainability-linked revolving credit facility (“RCF”) contains certain covenants, including certain limitations on incurring liens and indebtedness and maintenance of certain financial ratios, including a maximum leverage ratio, which becomes more restrictive over time. Non-compliance with such covenants, under certain circumstances, may result in our inability to borrow under the RCF or an event of default in all borrowings under the RCF. Additionally, non-compliance with such covenants, when greater than a specified threshold amount as set forth in each series of senior notes and when sustainability-linked senior notes is outstanding, could lead to an event of default under our senior notes and sustainability-linked senior notes due to cross acceleration provisions.
While we continue to take steps to reduce our debt and improve profitability, if we fail to satisfy our financial ratio covenants, we may need to renegotiate and amend the covenants, or refinance the debt with different repayment terms. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to amend such agreements or refinance such debt on terms satisfactory to us, or at all. If we experience lower than anticipated earnings or cash flows, to maintain compliance with our financial ratio covenants, we may curtail spending or divest assets, which could constrain our ability to grow our business.
We may need to raise additional funds in the future, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all.
We may consider issuing additional debt or equity securities in the future to refinance existing debt or for general corporate purposes, including to fund our growth strategies, and to fund potential acquisitions or investments. If we issue ordinary equity, convertible preferred equity or convertible debt securities to raise additional funds, our existing shareholders may experience dilution, and the new equity or debt securities may have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of our existing shareholders. If we incur additional debt, it may increase our leverage relative to our earnings or to our equity capitalization, requiring us to pay additional interest and potentially lowering our credit ratings. Our ability to incur debt may also be impacted by our credit ratings, which could impact the cost and availability of our future borrowings and, accordingly, our cost of capital. We have in the past been and may in the future be subject to ratings downgrades or negative outlooks by ratings agencies, which could negatively impact our ability to raise debt or borrow funds in amounts or on terms that are favorable to us, if at all. Additionally, capital and credit markets, which have been disrupted by macroeconomic pressures, have experienced volatility. As a result, access to additional financing may be challenging and is largely dependent upon market conditions, which could materially impact our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. If we are unable to raise additional funds in the future in amounts and on terms that are acceptable to us, we may not be able to develop or enhance our products, execute our business plan, take advantage of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated customer requirements.
Risks related to our general business and operations
Global economic conditions may negatively affect us and may magnify certain risks that affect our business.
In response to rising inflation in recent years, central banks in the markets in which we operate, including the United States Federal Reserve, have tightened their monetary policies and raised interest rates, and any developments to such measures are difficult to predict in anticipation of the macroeconomic and political developments. Higher interest rates and volatility in financial markets could lead to additional economic uncertainty or recession. Increased inflation rates have increased our and our suppliers’ operating costs, including labor costs, manufacturing costs and R&D costs. If we are unable to manage rising costs as a result of inflation and its broader effects on the markets in which we operate in the future, our operations may be materially affected. In addition to rising inflation, the global economy has also been impacted by fluctuating foreign exchange rates and geopolitical tensions, which could result in supply chain disruptions. Supply chain disruptions could continue to result in delays in our production and distribution processes, R&D initiatives and our ability to timely respond to consumer demand. As we have substantial international operations, fluctuations in exchange rates between the currencies in which we operate and the U.S. dollar could increase our operating costs and
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adversely affect our results of operations, profits and cash flows. The duration and extent of rising inflation, higher interest rates, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, geopolitical tensions and other macroeconomic headwinds are uncertain and we cannot accurately predict whether we will be able to effectively mitigate their impact on our business.
Due to the complexity of our supply chain, we have experienced supply discontinuities due to macroeconomic issues, regulatory actions, including sanctions and trade restrictions, labor disturbances and approval delays, which impacted our ability to timely meet demand in certain instances. These adverse market forces have a direct impact on our overall performance. Any such disruptions could have a material adverse impact on our business and our results of operation and financial condition.
The widespread outbreak of an illness or any other communicable disease, or any other public health crisis, and the governmental and societal responses thereto, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Widespread outbreaks of disease or other public health crises and responses thereto have in the past and may in the future negatively impact the global economy, disrupt global supply chains and create significant volatility and disruption of financial markets. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced disruptions in countries and regions in which we manufacture our products and conduct our clinical trials, as well as changes in customer stocking and purchasing patterns. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we temporarily closed certain of our facilities and faced other protectionist measures and restrictions imposed by government, which caused certain delays and disruptions in our materials, supply, and which also resulted in delays in our clinical trials due to slowdowns in recruitment for studies and suspended regulatory inspections, delays in regulatory approvals of new products due to reduced capacity or re-prioritization of regulatory agencies and delays in pre-commercial launch activities. The new working environment that emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many employees working remotely, also increased the exposure of many companies, including us, to cyber-attacks and data security breaches. Future outbreaks of disease, including a resurgence of COVID-19, and any government response thereto, could have a material adverse impact on the global economy, our supply chain, our business operations, and our financial performance.
We have taken precautionary measures, and may take additional measures, intended to minimize the risks of future potential public health crises to our employees and operations.
Implementation of ongoing optimization efforts may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We have and will continue to implement changes to optimize our business operations and reallocate resources towards growth opportunities. As part of such optimization efforts, we may face wrongful termination, discrimination or other legal claims from employees affected by ongoing changes in our workforce. We may incur substantial costs defending against such claims, regardless of their merits, and such claims may significantly increase our severance costs.
Upon the proposed divestiture of any assets, including divestitures of business units as part of our Pivot to Growth strategy to focus on our core businesses, as well as divestitures of our facilities in connection with our ongoing plant optimization, we may not be able to consummate such divestitures at a favorable price or in a timely manner. Any divestiture that we are unable to complete may cause additional costs associated with retaining, closing or disposing of the impacted businesses.
Any workforce reduction and site consolidation may result in the loss of numerous long-term employees, the loss of institutional knowledge and expertise, the reallocation of certain job responsibilities, the disruption of business continuity and legal claims from affected employees, all of which could negatively affect operational efficiencies and our ability to achieve growth and profitability through the development and sale of new
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pharmaceutical products. We cannot guarantee that, following such efficiency measures, our business will be more efficient or effective.
Significant disruptions of our information technology systems could adversely affect our business.
We rely extensively on information technology systems (including cloud services) in order to conduct business, including systems managed by third-party service providers. These systems include programs and processes relating to internal and external communications, ordering and managing materials from suppliers, converting materials to finished products, shipping products to customers, processing transactions, summarizing and reporting results of operations, processing payments to employees and vendors, calculating sales receivables, generating our financial results, and complying with information technology security compliance and other regulatory, legal or tax requirements. These information technology systems could be damaged or cease to function properly due to the poor performance or failure of third-party service providers, catastrophic events, power outages, network outages, failed upgrades or other similar events. If our business continuity plans do not effectively resolve such issues on a timely basis, we may suffer significant interruptions in conducting our business, which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Furthermore, our systems and networks, and those managed by our third-party service providers, have been, and are expected to continue to be, the target of increasingly advanced and evolving cyber-attacks which may pose a risk to the security of our systems and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data, as well as disrupt our operations or damage our facilities or those of third parties. Our exposure to cybersecurity risks may be heightened by the global scope of our operations. Because the techniques, tools and tactics used in cyber-attacks frequently change and may be difficult to detect for periods of time, despite our attention to such threats, we may face difficulties in anticipating and implementing adequate preventative measures or mitigating harms after such an attack. Cybersecurity attacks may become increasingly complex as they are enhanced or facilitated by the emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (“AI”) that are used to identify and target new vulnerabilities in our information technology systems or those of our customers, third-party vendors and other business partners. For example, AI and deepfake technologies could be used to attack information systems by creating more effective phishing emails or social engineering and by exploiting vulnerabilities in electronic security programs utilizing false image or voice recognition. There is no assurance that we, our customers, third-party vendors or other business partners will be able to promptly and effectively respond to such new increasingly sophisticated threats. Additionally, there is no assurance that we will be able to leverage the use of AI technologies within our business, which may position us in a competitive disadvantage relative to our competitors.
In addition, hardware, software or applications we develop or procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture or other problems that could unexpectedly compromise information security. We outsource administration of certain functions to vendors that could be targets of cyber-attacks. Any manipulation, theft, loss and/or fraudulent use of customer, employee or proprietary data as a result of a cyber-attack targeting us or one of our third-party service providers could subject us to significant litigation, liability and costs, as well as adversely impact our reputation with customers and regulators. A cyber-attack on our information technology systems may lead to substantial interruptions in our business, legal claims and liability, regulatory investigations and penalties, and reputational damage, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. While we maintain insurance coverage that is designed to address certain aspects of cyber risks, such insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover all losses or all types of claims that may arise in the event we experience a cybersecurity incident, data security breach or disruption, unauthorized access, or failure of systems.
A data security breach could adversely affect our business and reputation.
In the ordinary course of our business, we collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, proprietary business information and personally identifiable information (including of our employees, customers,
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suppliers and business partners). Any data breach may subject us to civil fines and penalties, or regulatory orders, fines or sanctions such as under the EU GDPR or EU NIS2, or equivalent under relevant national laws, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) as amended, and other relevant state and federal privacy laws in the United States, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and other laws and regulations including across our International Markets. Our failure, or the failure of our third-party vendors, to comply with applicable laws and regulations relating to data security and our involvement or the involvement of any of our third-party vendors in any data security incidents could result in legal claims and liability, obligations to report incidents to governmental agencies, regulatory investigations and penalties, and reputational damage, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We have procedures, tools, processes and services in place to detect and respond to cyber-attacks, data breaches, security incidents, and compromises of personal and other information. If our efforts to protect the security of data are unsuccessful, a cyber-attack, data breach, security incident, or compromise of personal information may result in costly legal claims and liability, financial penalties, government enforcement actions, for example under the EU GDPR or EU NIS2, private litigation, negative publicity or a reduction in supply of essential medicines to the public, or regulator orders requiring us to change the way our business is conducted, each of which could further result in reputation or brand damage with customers, and our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could suffer.
The manufacture of our products is highly complex, and an interruption in our supply chain or problems with internal or third party manufacturing could adversely affect our results of operations.
Our products are either manufactured at our own facilities or obtained through supply agreements with third parties. Many of our products are the result of complex manufacturing processes, and some require highly specialized raw materials. Problems may arise during manufacturing for a variety of reasons, including equipment malfunction, failure to follow specific protocols and procedures, problems with or shortages of raw materials, natural disasters, extreme weather events such as floods, heatwaves, blizzards, hurricanes, wildfires, the rise of sea level, and water stress, and other environmental factors. Additionally, as our manufacturing plants and equipment age, they may become more prone to failure. If we are not able to make capital improvements to such plants and equipment, or if they otherwise deteriorate, we could experience disruptions to our operations, manufacturing delays, further obsolescence and increased costs associated with repairs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
For some of our key raw materials, we have only a single, source of supply, and alternate sources of supply may not be readily available. If our supply of certain raw materials or finished products is interrupted from time to time, or proves insufficient to meet demand, our cash flows and results of operations could be adversely impacted. Additionally, any such supply interruption could result in a supply shortage to patients depending on the number of competitors able to meet the supply needs. Moreover, the streamlining of our manufacturing network may result in our product supply becoming more dependent on a smaller number of specific manufacturing plants. Our inability to timely manufacture any of our key products may result in claims and penalties from customers and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations as well as result in reputational harm.
In recent years, medicine shortages have become an increasingly widespread problem around the world. We are working diligently across our supply chain to ensure continuous and stable supply. Many European countries are implementing legal and regulatory measures, such as mandatory stockpiling and high penalties in order to prevent supply disruptions. Such measures may lead to substantial monetary losses in case we experience long-term supply disruptions in the relevant territories.
We also rely on complex shipping arrangements to and from the various facilities of our supply chain. Customs clearance and shipping by land, air or sea routes rely on and may be affected by factors that are not in our full control or are hard to predict.
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A significant portion of our costs is comprised of raw materials for our products as well as energy, transportation and labor costs for our manufacturing and operations. We have experienced increases in labor and other operational costs, partly due to macroeconomic pressures. While we seek to pass along such increased costs to our customers, there is no assurance that we will be able to successfully and promptly increase our pricing to offset such increased costs in the future. Our ability to increase our pricing may be limited or delayed by regulatory restrictions and we may only be able to increase our pricing to the extent our competitors also increase their prices, as any increase in our pricing exceeding that of our competitors could negatively impact our competitive position. Any failure to effectively and timely pass along our increased costs to our customers may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
We have significant operations globally, including in countries that may be adversely affected by political or economic instability, major hostilities or acts of terrorism, which exposes us to risks and challenges associated with conducting business internationally.
We are a global pharmaceutical company with worldwide operations. While a substantial majority of our sales in 2024 were in the United States and Europe, and an increasing portion of our sales and operational network are located in other regions. Certain of the regions in which we operate may be more susceptible to political and economic instability, such as the state of war declared in Israel in October 2023 and the ongoing military activity in the region, as well as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, that could result in a loss of sales in such regions. Our global headquarters and several manufacturing and R&D facilities are located in Israel and currently remain largely unaffected, and we have no manufacturing or R&D facilities in Russia or Ukraine. However, the duration, severity and global implications (including potential inflation and devaluation consequences) of these and other geopolitical conflicts that may arise in the future, cannot be predicted at this time and could have an effect on our business, exchange rate exposure, supply chain, operational costs and commercial presence in these markets.
Significant portions of our operations are conducted outside the markets in which our products are sold, and accordingly we often import a substantial number of products into such markets. We may, therefore, be denied access to our customers or suppliers or denied the ability to ship products from any of our sites as a result of a closing of the borders of the countries in which we sell our products, or in which our operations are located, due to economic, legislative, political and military conditions, including hostilities and acts of terror, in such countries. In addition, certain countries have put regulations in place requiring local manufacturing of goods, while foreign-made products are subject to pricing penalties or even bans from participation in public procurement auctions.
We face additional risks inherent in conducting business internationally, including compliance with laws and regulations of many jurisdictions that apply to our international operations. These laws and regulations include intellectual property laws, data privacy requirements, labor relations laws, tax laws, competition regulations, import and trade restrictions, economic sanctions, export requirements, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), the UK Bribery Act 2010 and other similar local laws that prohibit corrupt payments to governmental officials or certain payments or remunerations and provisions of things of value to customers and, in some cases, other private sector counterparties. Modifications of such laws or court decisions regarding such laws may adversely affect us and may impact our ability to continue our international operations. Given the high level of complexity of these laws, there is a risk that some provisions may be breached by us, for example through fraudulent or negligent behavior of individual employees (or third parties acting on our behalf), our failure to comply with certain formal documentation requirements, or otherwise. Actions by our employees, or by third-party intermediaries acting on our behalf, in violation of such laws, whether carried out in the United States or elsewhere in connection with the conduct of our business have exposed us, and may further expose us, to significant liability for violations of the FCPA or other anti-corruption laws. In 2016, we paid a monetary fine for FCPA violations and entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ, which included retaining an independent compliance monitor. The FCPA also requires us to keep and maintain accurate books and records and systems of internal controls to prevent bribery and corruption. Violations of these laws and
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regulations could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers or our employees, implementation of compliance programs and prohibitions on the conduct of our business. Any such violation could include prohibitions on our ability to offer our products in one or more countries and could materially damage our reputation, our brand, our ability to attract and retain employees, our business, our financial condition and our results of operations.
Our corporate headquarters and a portion of our manufacturing activities are located in Israel. Our Israeli operations are dependent upon materials imported from outside Israel. Accordingly, our operations and information technology systems could be materially and adversely affected by acts of terrorism, including through cybersecurity threats, or if major hostilities were to escalate in the Middle East or trade between Israel and its present trading partners were materially impaired, including as a result of acts of terrorism in the United States or elsewhere. The state of war declared in Israel in October 2023, and the ongoing military activity in the region, may result in disruption to our operations and facilities, such as our manufacturing and R&D facilities located in Israel, and impact our employees, some of which are military reservists being called to active military duty, and impact the economic, social and political stability of Israel.
Our continued success depends on our ability to attract, hire, integrate and retain highly skilled key personnel.