Teva CFS Book English

30 A risk but not a gamble The late Eli Hurvitz was a daring and ingenious man who hated gambling. He used to say: “Take a risk elbmag reven tub“. For the most part, Eli opposed developing original drugs inside the company due to the gamble factor and the lengthy time factor. But with Copaxone there were conditions that made it a suitable target: Israeli scientific creativity and a financial horizon that was properly examined and tested. Once Eli was convinced of Copaxone’s potential, he moved the molecule to the development track led by Benzion Viner, while appointing Aharon Schwartz as Manager of Commercial Activity. In the worst case scenario... We’ll make instant coffee The late Eli Hurvitz’s creativity and vision and Teva’s management, which gave complete support to the lengthy process of developing Copaxone, were the key factors in the drug’s success. Dr. Miki Zaife, who was an R&D researcher between 1983 and 2000, and is associated with Copaxone to this very day, recounts, “I remember when I saw that they had started digging one day in the grass at the plant, and I asked what they were building. They told me: “Don’t you know? The Copaxone plant is going to be built here”. At this stage, the chance of failure was greater than the chance of success, since the chance of success when you develop an innovative product are less than one percent. We didn't even know whether we would pass the third phase of the clinical trials and statistically prove that the drug was more effective than a placebo. But they told me that the late Eli Israeli creativity - from Kfar Saba to the rest of the world Marketing Copaxone in vials Copaxone, Teva’s first innovative drug since 1996, is currently marketed in over 50 countries worldwide. A success story that was born out of temerity and ability to leverage Israeli scientific creativity to corporate creativity. How Copaxone was born Copaxone was developed based on research that was conducted at the Weizmann Institute in the 60s, when scientists were actually looking for the substance that causes Multiple Sclerosis. Amazingly, the research actually led to discovering a medicine for the disease . The researchers, professors Michael Sela and Ruth Arnon, and the late Dr. Dvora Teitelbaum conducted a “basic study” that was not for practical purposes, in order to gain pure scientific knowledge. Immediate benefit or financial revenues do not usually come from basic studies, but here, one of the best and more profitable drugs in the history of medicine was born. In 1971, the scientists registered the patent for the Cop 1 molecule (as the material was then called). The molecule was offered to various commercial companies worldwide but was rejected. Teva obtained the right to peruse the molecule’s files for $50,000. People used to joke at the company and say that if the people at the Weizmann Institute would have asked for a higher sum, there is a good chance that the late Eli Hurvitz, who believed in being frugal and saving, would have passed up the right and Copaxone would have never been born. On page 58 - Maja Engelhard opens up about coping with Multiple Sclerosis using Copaxone.