Are your Meds in DANGER?
A dozen of everyday NHS medicines — from statins and blood-pressure tablets to antibiotics, antidepressants and diabetes drugs — and claimed Israel supplies 14% of the prescriptions dispensed in the UK each month. The figure is broadly accurate, though it refers to one company rather than the country as a whole.
This list is as follows:
Blood Pressure: •Ramipril •Lisinopril •Amlodipine •Felodipine •Atenolol •Bisoprolol •Carvedilol •propranolol |
Diabetes Tablets: •Metformin •Pioglitazone •Sitagliptin •Metformin •Sulphonylureas •Gliclazide |
Acid Reflux: •Omeprazole •Pantoprazole |
Thyroid: •Levothyroxine (T4) •Liothyronine |
Antidepressants: •Sertraline •Citalopram Maybe: Fluoxetine •Escitalopram •Mirtazapine •Venlafaxine •Duloxetine |
Epilepsy: •Lamotrigine •Levetiracetam •Pregabalin •Zonisamide |
Antibiotics: •Amoxicillin •Flucloxacillin •Co-amoxiclav •Phenoxymethylpenicillin •Doxycycline •Clarithromycin •Nitrofurantoin •Metronidazole •Cefalexin |
Respiratory: •Qvar •Airomir •Braltus Zonda •Salbutamol •Nebuliser •Montelukast |
Cancer generic: •lenalidomide •pomalidomide •ranibizumab |
NHS Scotland ONLY: •Multiple sclerosis medicines •HIV generics •Immunosuppressants •Analgesics •Anaesthetic •musculoskeletal ➡️ Some branded specialty products Teva still sells (e.g. Copaxone historically; migraine drug Ajovy) NHS Scotland procurement lists for Teva UK include psychiatry/neurology, antibiotics, cancer generics/biosimilars, fertility, GI/endocrine/nutrition/blood generics, MS, HIV generics, and immunosuppressants. |
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, headquartered in Israel, is one of the world’s largest makers of generic medicines. Its UK subsidiary is a major supplier to the NHS. Teva’s own figures state that one in seven generic packs dispensed in the UK carries its name, and one in eight of all prescribed packs. Independent reporting and parliamentary references have used the same 14% or “one in seven/eight” range.
The company has supplied medicines in Britain since the 1930s and now operates several sites here: a distribution and head-office hub in Castleford, West Yorkshire; manufacturing in Runcorn, Cheshire; research and development in Larne, Northern Ireland; and commercial operations in Harlow, Essex. It employs more than 1,000 people directly in the UK and supports further jobs through its supply chain.
Teva specialises in off-patent generics — cheaper versions of drugs whose original patents have expired. These include common treatments such as ramipril, amlodipine, metformin, omeprazole, sertraline, amoxicillin and salbutamol, matching the categories listed in the original post. NHS Scotland procurement records show multiple active contracts with Teva UK covering psychiatry and neurology medicines, antibiotics, cancer generics, fertility products, HIV generics, multiple-sclerosis treatments and immunosuppressants.
The economic case for these contracts is the cost saving. Teva says its generics save the NHS around £2.4 billion a year — money that could theoretically fund tens of thousands of extra nurses, doctors or GPs. Government ministers have cited similar figures when discussing the UK-Israel trade relationship in healthcare. In 2017 officials estimated that companies based in Israel supplied about 100 million prescription items a year in England.
The scale of the relationship has drawn political attention. Some campaigners and commentators have called for the NHS to seek alternative suppliers, arguing that an Israeli firm’s taxes support Israel’s military. A 2025 investigation highlighted Teva’s public statements of support for the IDF. Others, including government responses to parliamentary questions, have pointed to existing trade agreements and the practical difficulty of rapidly replacing a high-volume, low-cost supplier without raising prices or risking shortages. The Department of Health has stated it has no plans to end such purchases.
Generic-medicine supply chains are already concentrated. Industry reports note that a large share of critical generics in the UK come from a small number of manufacturers. Teva itself has warned that additional regulatory costs, such as new packaging levies, could push prices up by a few pence per pack and affect NHS affordability. Successive governments have identified medicine-supply resilience as a priority, including efforts to diversify sources and reduce reliance on single providers or distant manufacturing.
For patients, the immediate reality is that many of the tablets in their weekly pill organiser are made or supplied by Teva. The company’s UK operations mean a significant portion of production and packaging happens on British soil even though the parent company is Israeli. Switching suppliers would require new tenders, regulatory checks and capacity elsewhere — a process that typically takes years rather than months.The 14% figure therefore captures both a genuine dependence on one large generic manufacturer and the cost-benefit trade-off the NHS has accepted for years: cheaper medicines at the price of concentrated supply. How far that concentration should be reduced, and on what grounds, remains a live policy question rather than a settled fact.
