Teva's earliest predecessor was Salomon, Levin, and Elstein Ltd., a wholesale distributor based in Palestine that was founded in 1901, and used camels to make deliveries.[5] During the 1930s, new immigrants from Europe founded several pharmaceutical companies including Teva ("Nature" in Hebrew), Assia, and Zori. In 1951, Teva raised capital through the newly founded Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange after the formation of the new country, Israel.

In 1964, Assia and Zori merged and acquired a controlling interest in Teva. In 1976, these three companies merged into the modern-day Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. In 1980, Teva continued to follow its vision of becoming one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies by acquiring Ikapharm, then Israel's second largest drug manufacturer.[6]

In 1982, Teva was granted approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Kfar Saba manufacturing plant, an essential milestone for marketing pharmaceuticals in the USA.

In 2005, Teva opened a new, state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Har Hotzvim, a technology park in Jerusalem. The plant received FDA approval in early 2007.[7] Teva entered the Japanese market in 2005, and in 2008 established a generics joint venture with Kowa.[8]

In 2008, sales totalled $11.08 billion, $13.9 billion in 2009, and in 2010 total sales rose to $16.1 billion, of which a major portion was in Europe and North America. Teva acquired its U.S. rival Ivax Corporation in January 2006,[9][10] Barr in 2007 and Ratiopharm in 2010.

In 2010, Teva announced that it would build its main distribution center for the Americas in Philadelphia, PA, and was considering opening its US headquarters in the area.[7]

In 2010, it had 39,660 employees. In Israel, the number of workers rose 7.5% by 6,774.[11] In March 2010, Teva acquired German-based company Ratiopharm in a deal worth almost $5 billion, significantly expanding its European coverage.[12][13][14] In October 2010, Teva entered a licensing agreement with BioTime to develop and market BioTime's OpRegen for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration,[15] an effort that in 2013 received $1.5 billion in funding from Israel's Office of the Chief Scientist.[16] In May 2011 Teva announced it would purchase Cephalon for US$6.8 billion, to help expand its presence in the proprietary pharmaceuticals sector.

Teva Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (TAPI) operates within Teva as a stand-alone business unit. As well as providing for Teva's own needs, the TAPI division is an active competitor in world markets. In 2009, TAPI's sales to third parties totaled $565 million, and in 2010 sales rose by 13% to a total of $641 million.