TEVA Is "All In" for Schizophrenia Patients

The large Teva site in Netanya (Abic) is home to one of the world's most advanced innovative-biological R&D centers. Owned by Israeli-global pharma-giant, Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd., it employs some 400 people — 72 percent of them women and 98 percent with advanced academic degrees.

One of those women is Dr. Yael Marantz, head of the Teva Netanya site and Teva's vice president for non-clinical development. "In our site we are focused on developing innovative pharmaceuticals", she says, "that meet medical problems currently without adequate solutions or without any solutions at all." Innovative medications, she explains, may be built on substances so new they haven't yet been invented, or they may administer drugs in new ways that completely change how the disease is handled.

Creating innovative drugs requires vision

Discovery and development of such breakthrough medications take many years of R&D, testing and obtaining necessary approvals. But neither the decades of work nor the billions of dollars can guarantee a successful medication at the end. Deciding what to develop and on which field to focus is thus critical. "Teva has rich experience in drug development in areas such as central nervous system (CNS) disease, where we've repeatedly proven ourselves," says Dr. Marantz. "In our specialist areas, we've accumulated abundant experience in development and in marketing and sales, as well as establishing a range of academic collaborations, and deep knowledge of the surrounding technological ecosystem." Teva's focus on innovative drugs has already yielded promising results, with one of Teva's newest developments, a sustained-release subcutaneous injection for schizophrenia patients. The drug is given by injection once a month or once every two months, using an innovative administration technology. Most patients suffering from schizophrenia take medications that are taken orally and require daily intake. On the other hand, "our innovative development makes it possible to take this specific antipsychotic drug once a month or once every two months instead of daily, and this is a breakthrough that significantly reduces the risk of recurrent psychotic attacks", explains Dr. Marantz. "People who suffer from schizophrenia have great difficulty with Taking medication daily, and one of the most difficult problems in treating this disease is that the patients avoid or forget to take the medication and suffer from repeated attacks that greatly worsen their condition. The drug we developed can dramatically change the way the disease is treated." UZEDY for schizophrenia, which was only recently approved by the FDA and was developed in collaboration with MedinCell, recently joins a series of innovative drugs developed in recent years by Teva, such as Ajovy to prevent migraine attacks, Austedo to treat movement disorders caused by Huntington's disease or due to side effects of psychiatric drugs, and of course Copaxone for the treatment in multiple sclerosis and Azilact for Parkinson's, both developed in Israel together with the 'Weizmann Institute of Science' and the 'Technion' respectively. These days the company is working on a number of other intriguing developments, which are in advanced stages, for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases such as colitis and Crohn's, as well as another drug for schizophrenia.

Combining industry, technology and research

Of key importance in Teva's approach is its close collaboration with academia on one side and the hi-tech sector on the other. The company clearly understands that creation of innovative medications needs talented scientists, leading laboratories and the most advanced medical technologies. "Three years ago, we decided to align ourselves more closely with academia, and found dozens of laboratories in Israel with whom we could work," recounts Dr. Marantz. "Today, we're collaborating with the country's finest researchers in some 30 different projects, developing innovative drugs for CNS diseases, Cancer and immunotherapies. We're extremely proud of these academic and cross-industry collaborations. "Bio-Mix is one example of an inventive and fruitful partnership between Israeli academia and Teva. Each year, some 30 outstanding doctoral students are accepted into the project. Intensive mentoring, workshops and meetings nurture innovative, entrepreneurial, and innovative mindsets. Ideas sprout and blossom — such as a smart body-patch that warns of life-threatening allergy attacks, a drop of breast milk that identifies breast cancer, artificial intelligence (AI) that can diagnose disease early, and more.

The healing potential of AI

In 2021, supported by the Israel Innovation Authority and with venture capital funds and leading pharmaceutical and technology companies, Teva launched AION Labs with the purpose of transforming drug discovery and development. A global first, it brings together pharma, scientists, academia, technology leaders and investors — shattering the old model in which companies work in competitive secrecy. To solve the pharmaceutical industry's R&D challenges, it uses AI, cloud technologies and advanced computational tools — and the side benefits include reduction of animal experimentation and promotion of personalized medicine which places the patient at the center. Several startups have already launched from AION Labs. One of them is DenovAI. It combines advanced machine learning and computational biophysics to increase the probability of success for drug candidates, to find broader-scope antibodies faster and more economically, and to design from scratch complex potential antibodies that may become new biological drugs. Teva is also partnered Philips Healthcare in the seed-stage Sanara Ventures investment incubator fund. Together, they are investing in and supporting over 20 medical device and digital medicine startups. Teva is keenly aware that promoting medical innovation moves forward drug development more quickly and more successfully and can change the face of the entire ecosystem.

in collaboration with Teva