Teva Announces the Appointment of Dr. Philip Frost As Chairman of Its Board of Directors
Jerusalem, Israel, March 9, 2010 -
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) announced today
that its Board of Directors received a letter from Mr. Eli Hurvitz
indicating that he wishes to be released from his duties at Teva in
order to focus on his full recovery. Accordingly, Professor Moshe
Many has stepped down from his role as Interim Chairman and
following deliberations held by the Board of Directors and in
accordance with the recommendation of the Nomination Committee, the
Board has unanimously appointed its Vice Chairman, Dr. Phillip
Frost, to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors also unanimously appointed Professor Moshe
Many to serve as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Frost said: "We are all saddened
by the circumstances that have caused this development. We are all
keenly aware of the unique role Eli Hurvitz has played for so long
in Teva's development, and I am sure that all the members of the
Board and all Teva's employees join me in wishing Eli a speedy and
full recovery."
Dr. Frost went on to say: "Under the leadership of Shlomo Yanai,
Teva's President & CEO, we have experienced remarkable growth
over the last 3 years. As chairman, I intend, together with my
colleagues on the Board, to do our utmost to support Shlomo and his
team in pursuit of the strategic plan recently approved by the
Board of Directors and presented to the investment community in
January. Moreover, I fully support our commitment to leadership in
the global generics market from our headquarters in Israel."
Dr. Phillip Frost (73) has served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of
Directors of Teva since January 2006, following the acquisition of
Ivax Corporation by Teva. Prior to his election as a director of
Teva, Dr. Frost served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive
Officer of Ivax Corporation from 1987 until 2006. Dr. Frost
presently is the Chairman of the Board and CEO of OPKO Health,
Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, Chairman of the Israeli
company PROLOR Biotech , a major investor in several Israeli
companies mainly in the Biomed field and Chairman of the Board of
Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services. Dr. Frost serves as a
director of Continucare Corporation Inc. and Castle Brands Inc. He
is a member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
Dr. Frost is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Scripps
Research Institute and the Board of Trustees of the University of
Miami. Dr. Frost received a B.A. in French literature from the
University of Pennsylvania in 1957 and an M.D. from the Albert
Einstein College of Medicine in 1961.
About Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., headquartered in Israel, is
among the top 15 pharmaceutical companies in the world and is the
leading generic pharmaceutical company. The company develops,
manufactures and markets generic and innovative pharmaceuticals and
active pharmaceutical ingredients. Over 80 percent of Teva's sales
are in North America and Western Europe.
Teva's Safe Harbor Statement under the U. S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
This release contains forward-looking statements, which express the
current beliefs and expectations of management. Such statements are
based on management's current beliefs and expectations and involve
a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could
cause our future results, performance or achievements to differ
significantly from the results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important
factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include
risks relating to: our ability to successfully develop and
commercialize additional pharmaceutical products, the introduction
of competing generic equivalents, the extent to which we may obtain
U.S. market exclusivity for certain of our new generic products and
regulatory changes that may prevent us from utilizing exclusivity
periods, potential liability for sales of generic products prior to
a final resolution of outstanding patent litigation, including that
relating to the generic versions of Neurontin®, Lotrel®,
Protonix® and Eloxatin®, the current economic conditions,
competition from brand-name companies that are under increased
pressure to counter generic products, or competitors that seek to
delay the introduction of generic products, the effects of
competition on our innovative products, especially Copaxone®
sales, including potential oral and generic competition for
Copaxone®, dependence on the effectiveness of our patents and
other protections for innovative products, the impact of
consolidation of our distributors and customers, the impact of
pharmaceutical industry regulation and pending legislation that
could affect the pharmaceutical industry, our ability to achieve
expected results though our innovative R&D efforts, the
difficulty of predicting U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
European Medicines Agency and other regulatory authority approvals,
the uncertainty surrounding the legislative and regulatory pathway
for the registration and approval of biotechnology-based products,
the regulatory environment and changes in the health policies and
structures of various countries, supply interruptions or delays
that could result from the complex manufacturing of our products
and our global supply chain, our ability to successfully identify,
consummate and integrate acquisitions, the potential exposure to
product liability claims to the extent not covered by insurance,
our exposure to fluctuations in currency, exchange and interest
rates, significant operations worldwide that may be adversely
affected by terrorism, political or economical instability or major
hostilities, our ability to enter into patent litigation
settlements and the intensified scrutiny by the U.S. government,
the termination or expiration of governmental programs and tax
benefits, impairment of intangible assets and goodwill,
environmental risks, and other factors that are discussed in this
report and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC").
Company Contacts:
Elana Holzman
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
972 (3) 926-7554
Kevin Mannix
Teva North America
(215) 591-8912
Posted: March 2010
