April 1, 1976
In 1901, one of Teva’s parent companies distributes medications using mule and camel transport in Ottoman Palestine. In the 1930s several pharmaceutical companies develope, becoming the sole sources for medicines in Palestine during WWII. Hurvitz, born in Jerusalem in 1932 studies at The Hebrew University, and then in 1976 he helps merge three companies into Teva. He is president and chief executive officer for the next quarter century. Teva becomes the world’s largest manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals. Before passing away in 2011, he heads Israel’s Bank Leumi and the Israel Democracy Institute.