Tell Jacksonville's Police and Fire Pension Board to not renew their investments in Teva Pharmaceuticals, an Israeli company with ties to the fentanyl crisis and the occupation of Palestine.

As of 2025 The Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund had almost $2 million invested in Teva corporate bonds. Jacksonville tax dollars should not be invested in a company that:

Fueled the fentanyl and opioid crisis
This is the company that helped flood American communities with addictive opioids, devastating countless families across the country. States and cities are suing Teva for their role in this epidemic. Why should Jacksonville tie our pension fund's future to a company profiting from addiction and death?

Has deep roots in the occupation of Palestine
Teva proudly calls itself Israel's "national pharmaceutical company." Its founding CEO served in the military during the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948, and 20% of its employees were immediately recruited and engaged in the the escalated genocide in Gaza following October 7th. The company continues to profit from and support the Israeli occupation today. The majority of Americans don't support sending their tax dollars to support this occupation—and neither should Jacksonville.

Is a bad investment
Our police and fire pension fund is currently under 45% funded—a staggering shortfall that puts our first responders' retirement security at risk. Every dollar counts. Yet Teva carries billions in debt and has been hit with over $5 billion in fines and settlements for price-fixing, illegal kickback schemes, and other corporate crimes. These are low-grade, high-risk bonds—a liability, not an asset.

Add your name today. Tell the Board: Drop Teva now.

After signing on-- JOIN US for our mobilization to the Police and Fire Pension Fund's Board of Trustee Meeting on 9/25 @9AM to ask for divestment from TEVA via public comment!

Location: 1 West Adams Street, Suite 100 Jacksonville, FL 32202

See you there!

To learn more about the campaign, check out the information below:

Why Jacksonville's Police & Fire Pension Fund Must Divest From Teva Pharmaceuticals

Teva Pharmaceuticals is one of the largest producers of generic medications in the world — but behind its size is a long record of criminal penalties, civil settlements, environmental violations, and unethical business practices. Teva has been found liable for fueling the opioid crisis, fixing drug prices, bribing foreign officials, paying illegal kickbacks, and polluting U.S. air and water.

As of 2025, the Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund held nearly $2 million in Teva corporate bonds. Renewing these investments exposes our city's first responders to financial, ethical, and public‑health risk.

Documented Legal Actions Against Teva Pharmaceuticals

Opioid Crisis Liability — $4.25 Billion Settlement (2022)
Teva agreed to a $4.25 billion nationwide settlement resolving thousands of lawsuits alleging the company deceptively marketed opioid medications, including fentanyl‑based drugs, contributing to the devastating U.S. opioid epidemic. The settlement was one of the largest pharmaceutical opioid resolutions in U.S. history and included both cash payments and the provision of generic naloxone to states.

Sources:

●     U.S. Department of Justice — www.justice.gov/opa

●     Associated Press — apnews.com

●     Reuters — www.reuters.com

Price‑Fixing Conspiracy — $225 Million Criminal Penalty (2023)
Teva paid $225 million after the U.S. Department of Justice charged the company with conspiring with other drugmakers to fix prices for multiple generic drugs, including pravastatin (a cholesterol medication), clotrimazole, and tobramycin. Teva entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement and formally admitted that a former employee participated in the price‑fixing scheme on at least three documented occasions.

Sources:

●     DOJ Antitrust Division — www.justice.gov/atr

●     Bloomberg Law — news.bloomberglaw.com

●     Reuters — www.reuters.com

Medicare Kickback Scheme & Price‑Fixing — $450 Million Settlement (2024)
In October 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Teva agreed to pay $450 million to resolve two separate schemes. The larger $425 million portion resolved allegations that Teva routed more than $300 million through ostensibly charitable patient‑assistance foundations to cover Medicare copays for its multiple‑sclerosis drug Copaxone — while simultaneously raising the drug's annual price from approximately $17,000 to $85,000. This conduct violated the Anti‑Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. The remaining $25 million resolved a separate civil claim arising from the same generic drug price‑fixing scheme for which Teva paid the $225 million criminal penalty.

Key facts confirmed by the Department of Justice and Reuters:

●     Teva funneled illegal kickbacks through two charitable foundations (the Chronic Disease Fund and The Assistance Fund) between 2006 and 2017.

●     Teva coordinated with a CVS‑affiliated specialty pharmacy to steer patients toward these foundations to cover Medicare copays.

●     Copaxone's annual price rose fivefold — from approximately $17,000 to approximately $85,000 — during this same period.

●     This settlement represents the largest of its kind related to pharmaceutical copay assistance abuse.

Sources:

●     U.S. Department of Justice (Oct. 10, 2024) — www.justice.gov/opa

●     Reuters (Oct. 10, 2024) — www.reuters.com

Foreign Bribery — $519 Million Settlement (2016)
Teva paid $519 million to resolve charges under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for bribing government officials in Russia, Ukraine, and Mexico. The company provided cash payments, vehicles, and other benefits to public officials in exchange for favorable treatment in registering, marketing, and distributing Teva's pharmaceutical products in those countries.

Sources:

●     DOJ Criminal Fraud Section — www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud

●     U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — www.sec.gov

Environmental Violations — $2.25 Million Civil Penalty (2013)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assessed Teva a $2.25 million civil penalty for violations of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and federal hazardous‑waste regulations at its pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Missouri. The violations included improper handling and disposal of hazardous chemicals and failure to meet clean air and water emission standards.

Sources:

●     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — www.epa.gov

●     Missouri Attorney General — ago.mo.gov

Additional Facts That Matter for Jacksonville

Teva's Debt & Financial Instability
Teva's long‑term debt has remained above $20 billion since 2017, following the company's highly leveraged $40.5 billion acquisition of Allergan's generics division. Both Moody's Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings have repeatedly assigned Teva's corporate bonds a speculative ("junk") grade rating, reflecting elevated default risk. Investing public pension assets in speculative‑grade debt exposes beneficiaries to losses that may be difficult or impossible to recover.

Risk Note: Pension funds are generally expected to prioritize capital preservation and stability. Junk‑rated bonds carry materially higher probability of default — a risk inappropriate for public employee retirement assets.

Public Health Impact in Florida
Teva's Copaxone price hikes — from approximately $17,000 to $85,000 per year — directly burden Medicare and Florida patients. Florida is home to more than 20,000 residents living with multiple sclerosis, many of whom rely on Medicare coverage. Price manipulation that inflates the cost of life‑managing medication represents a direct harm to Florida communities — including the families of Jacksonville's own first responders.

Pension funds across the globe are dropping Teva for these very reasons. Jacksonville must join them. By signing this petition, you are demanding that the Board immediately halt any renewal of Teva Pharmaceutical bonds.

Jacksonville has the power to choose a different path—one that invests in our people, not in opioids and occupation.