The world's largest nurses' union, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), has terminated its cooperation with the Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva. The reason cited was the company's involvement in the country's military affairs, as well as its long history of corruption scandals and bribery.
Following this decision, RCN withdrew its status as a sponsor and partner of Teva UK for an upcoming event scheduled to take place at the union's headquarters in London.
Groups advocating for Palestine welcomed the move, calling it a 'major breakthrough' for the international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. This movement aims to isolate Israel due to the genocide in Gaza and apartheid policies in the occupied West Bank.
RCN, which represents approximately 600,000 nurses, made the decision after a campaign led by Nurses for Palestine and UK Healthcare Petitions to Royal Colleges (UKHPRC) against the partnership.
In an open letter, nurses, midwives, and healthcare workers warned that Teva UK 'is linked to the Israeli army, is part of the institutional apparatus of apartheid, and is responsible for corporate abuses.'
The letter also criticized RCN's leadership for using the concept of 'political neutrality' in response to previous attempts by union members to 'take a clear, principled stand on the ongoing genocide in Gaza.'
Signatories noted: 'Accepting commercial sponsorship from a corporate titan deeply involved in the military apparatus and military mobilization of the Israeli state is the complete opposite of neutrality.'
The Chair of the RCN Council, Carmel O'Boyl, confirmed the decision in a letter addressed to Nurses for Palestine. She stated: 'RCN is terminating its commercial partnership with Teva UK going forward. Teva UK will no longer sponsor the RCN nursing leadership summit: the migraine and headache treatment services event planned for October 30, 2026. The event will proceed as planned.' She clarified that this pertains to the union's publications and education division.
Carmel O'Boyl added: 'We are taking these actions because further due diligence revealed that several operations of Teva Pharmaceuticals have been subject to legal sanctions and public scrutiny, and they do not align with the values of RCN and RCN.'
Nurses for Palestine endorsed the step, stating: 'Teva has no right to sponsor professional organizations dedicated to healing, care, and preserving human life.'
UKHPRC emphasized: 'It is unthinkable that in this day and age, healthcare organizations would continue to enter into commercial relationships with companies associated with maintaining state systems accused or recognized by international bodies of serious violations of international law, including crimes against humanity, apartheid, and genocide.'
Teva, the world's largest generic drug manufacturer, expressed disappointment with RCN's decision and accused the union of politicizing healthcare.
Over the last decade, the European Commission and US authorities have ordered Teva to pay approximately £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in fines for price fixing, bribery, and abuse of market position to the detriment of patients and medical institutions. Furthermore, the Israeli company faces a new lawsuit in the US regarding the ongoing price-fixing scandal.