World’s largest nursing union ends ties with ‘Israeli’ pharma giant

• The Royal College of Nursing has ended its commercial partnership with Teva UK.
• The decision follows pressure from pro-Palestinian healthcare groups.
• The union cited Teva’s record of legal sanctions and public scrutiny.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which represents more than 500,000 nursing staff in the UK, has ended its commercial partnership with Teva UK, the British arm of ‘Israeli’ pharmaceutical giant Teva Pharmaceuticals.

The decision means Teva UK will no longer sponsor the RCNi nursing leadership summit on migraine and headache services, scheduled to take place at the RCN’s London headquarters on October 30.

RCN chair Carmel O’Boyle confirmed the decision in a letter to Nurses for Palestine, saying further due diligence had identified operations by Teva Pharmaceuticals that had been subject to legal sanctions and public scrutiny.

O’Boyle said these issues were "not in line" with the values of the RCN and its publishing and education arm, RCNi.

The move came after pressure from Nurses for Palestine and UK Healthcare Petitions to Royal Colleges, which had called on the union to end its relationship with Teva.

Nurses for Palestine welcomed the decision, while UKHPRC described it as part of wider efforts targeting companies linked to ‘Israel’.

Teva said it was “disappointed” by the RCN’s decision and argued that healthcare works best when it remains focused on patients rather than becoming “politicized”.