Teva CFS Book English

48 I n the year 2000, the plant in Kfar Saba manufactured at a rate of 2-3 billion tablets per year. This number more than tripled in 2006, even though the tablets were manufactured in the same compound, by making numerous changes at the site and a never-ending series of launches of new drugs. The largest generic launch in history David Lustig, who managed the plant in Kfar Saba between 2002 and 2006 recounts: “One of the things that excites me most about Teva Kfar Saba is the plant’s ability to grow and the power it exhibits. The plant produced 9 billion tablets in 2006 with launches of 3 significant products to the U.S. (Simvastatin, Pravastatin, (Sertaline - This was a record year for the plant with regards to launches and contribution to society”. The Simvastatin launch alone - a drug to lower high cholesterol, which was the largest generic launch in history up to that point, is responsible for half a billion tablets exclusively. How did it happen? Menny Meirom, who was the Manager of the Supply Chain of the plant at the time and in charge of its ongoing activity, explains: “Already in 2002, Teva’s management recognized that the scope was about to increase significantly and that the plant in Kfar Saba won’t be able to meet these demands on its own and therefore in 2003 it started building the plant in Jerusalem. Construction was completed in 2005, and in 2006 the new plant was supposed to start manufacturing to the American market and lighten the load of the Kfar Saba plant. “The goal was that after a few years the two plants would balance out with regards to their scopes”, but plans are one thing and reality another. In 2006, the Second Lebanon War broke out and the FDA didn’t come to approve the new plant as planned. The plant in Kfar Saba found itself dealing with the immense manufacturing demands on its own, with only the existing infrastructure at its disposal. Fighting at the front lines of production Menny attests: “Some of the things we farmed out, some of them we gave up on, and we took a lot on ourselves. In order to jump almost 25% in production from year to year, you have to do really special things. Although we added a little bit of manpower but not significantly, it was a very efficient year in terms of cost per unit. We completely exhausted our capabilities and functioned optimally”. It’s amazing that during the Second Lebanon War a large part of the executive level wasn’t present at the plant because of Reserve Service, but the plant continued to produce and function full tilt and even launched new products. 80 launches with round the clock motivation In 2006, the plant in Kfar Saba was responsible for 80 launches. In the second quarter alone, there were 15 new launches and some of the launches were huge. The plant in Jerusalem helped with products to the European market only and this was only a small share of the activity. The large scopes of the launches enabled high efficiency. Menny Meirom recounts: “We worked around the clock - right up until Shabbat started and as soon as it ended. We gave bonuses to outstanding employees every month that went above and beyond in each department, we celebrated every success in order to spark the employees’ motivation. The need to meet the goals created a positive momentum. The goals were to meet the market demands but we had a lot more demand than ability to supply and therefore we did whatever we could and reached an amazing production rate of 9 billion tablets per year. Quit while you’re ahead David Lustig, who left the plant that record 9 billion tablets a year and the largest generic launch in history The year 2006 is remembered as a record year for the Kfar Saba plant, a year in which the staff at the plant did the unbelievable and with joint forces managed to produce 9 billion tablets a year and pull off the largest generic launch in history.