The facts
Britain’s Royal College of Nursing (RCN), representing more than 500,000 nurses, announced it has terminated its commercial partnership with Teva UK and removed the company as sponsor of the RCNi nursing leadership summit on migraine and headache services scheduled for 30 October 2026. The decision follows pressure from campaign groups such as Nurses for Palestine and UK Healthcare Petitions to Royal Colleges (UKHPRC). RCN chair Carmel O’Boyle confirmed the move in a letter, stating that further due‑diligence showed several Teva operations had been subject to legal sanctions and public scrutiny that conflicted with RCN values. The Guardian reports that over the past decade Teva Pharmaceuticals has paid roughly £1 billion in fines and settlements, including a €462.6 million European Commission fine in 2024 for anti‑competitive practices around its multiple‑sclerosis drug Copaxone, a $225 million US settlement in 2023 for price‑fixing, and a $519 million 2016 settlement for bribery in Russia, Ukraine and Mexico. Teva said it was disappointed by the RCN’s decision and warned that healthcare was being politicised.
Our take
Well, the Royal College of Nursing finally woke up and smelled the fucking corruption. After being nagged by campaigners, the union did a bit of ‘due diligence’ on their partner Teva UK and discovered the pharmaceutical giant isn’t just a medicine supplier – it’s a walking, talking fine‑machine. A billion quid in penalties over a decade? That’s not a company, that’s a crime‑spree with a business card. They’ve been bent over and fucked by regulators from Brussels to Washington for price‑fixing, bribery, and anti‑competitive shenanigans. The RCN’s precious ‘values’ apparently don’t include shacking up with an international cartel cunt, so they dropped Teva as a sponsor for a migraine summit. The comedy peaks when Teva’s spokesperson calls the move ‘disappointing’ and says healthcare has become ‘politicised.’ No, you prick, it’s not politics – it’s your company getting caught with its hand in the till so many times it should be registered as a fucking pickpocket. Pay half a billion here, a quarter billion there – that’s just the cost of doing business when your business is a greedy, sanction‑dodging asshole. The RCN should be embarrassed it took campaign pressure to notice this walking settlement. What was the previous due diligence, checking if their cheque cleared? Now they get to posture about ethics while Teva, a major NHS supplier, keeps raking it in. A classic case of slapping a bandage on a gangrenous limb and calling it a cure. Pathetic, but at least the nurses won’t have their leadership summit sponsored by a proven criminal enterprise. Small fucking victories.
