Our History

Bringing safe and effective medicines to the world since 1901

The company known today as Teva started as a small business in Jerusalem in 1901. The young company, named after its pharmacist founders, Salomon, Levin and Elstein Ltd. distributed imported medicines throughout the land using mule trains and camel caravans.

Over the following decades, the company’s growth was spurred as demand for locally produced medicines grew. In 1976, the company became Teva (the Hebrew word for “nature”) Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Teva has grown significantly across the globe through numerous successful acquisitions which have integrated and enhanced our expertise in innovative and generic medicines, as well as new therapeutic areas and markets. Today, Teva is among the top 15 global pharmaceutical 
companies – a world leader in generic and specialty medicines.