Teva acquires Emalex Biosciences for up to $900m

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Emalex Biosciences. Teva will pay $700 million in cash and up to $200 million in milestone payments, as well as net sales-based royalties, subject to regulatory approval. Emalex is developing a drug for the treatment of Tourette syndrome.

The acquisition will be completed in the third quarter of 2026 and Teva will finance it from its cash reserves.

First acquisition in a decade

Until a decade ago, Teva was considered a serial acquirer, but the failure of the giant $40 billion acquisition of Actavis, which was completed in 2016, and the enormous debt taken on to finance it, has led to a long period without acquisitions, and aggressive streamlining at the company. In the last two years, after the company reduced the scale of its debt, Teva has returned to the idea of mergers and acquisitions.

Emalex Biosciences’ key development asset is Ecopipam, a treatment for pediatric Tourette syndrome, which is classified by the FDA as an orphan drug with fast-track approval.

Teva CEO Richard Francis said, “This is a prime example of our Pivot to Growth strategy in action, advancing focused, capital-efficient agreements that expand our late-stage innovative pipeline and commercial portfolio, while delivering on our unrelenting commitment to patients. There is a real unmet need in Tourette syndrome, and families deserve additional options that can help manage symptoms while minimizing side effects. With our deep neuroscience expertise, we are well-positioned to advance this first-in-class investigational compound.”

Teva also published its financial results for the first quarter of 2026 today. The company reported revenue of about $4 billion, compared with analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. Non-GAAP earnings per share was $0.53, compared with analysts’ expectations of $0.46.

According to Teva’s guidance at the beginning of the year, the company sees a slight decrease in revenue this year to $16.4-16.8 billion, while returning to growth in the following years. Non-GAAP earnings per share in 2026 is forecast to reach $2.57-2.77.

But following the acquisition of Emalex, non-GAAP earnings per share guidance has been revised downwards to $1.91-2.11.

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Teva is traded on the NYSE and TASE at a market cap of $36.818 billion, after its share price more has than doubled over the past year, but since the beginning of the year the return has been minor and stands at about 1%. After publishing its results and announcing the acquisition, Teva’s share price is 6.37% higher in premarket trading on Wall Street.

Following the share price increase over the past year, Francis recently sold some of the shares he held in a blind share sale, for a cumulative amount of $16.7 million.

The company says it will reduce the dilutive impact on the profit rate in the short term and confirms the achievement of its financial targets for 2027.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on April 29, 2026.

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