LSIPR 50 2017: Galit Gonen

Name: Galit Gonen

Organisation: Teva Europe

Position: General counsel for Europe

On Teva’s website, Galit Gonen is described as “one of the brightest legal minds in the life sciences industry”. She leads the European legal group at Teva and is responsible for enforcing the IP of Teva’s speciality medicines, defending the company’s commercial interests, and challenging patents in appropriate cases to facilitate market access for Teva’s generic business.

According to Gonen, who was featured in last year’s LSIPR 50, the biggest achievement in her career was building an integrated European legal team containing lawyers from many different countries, who together create value for Teva.

She started working for Teva in 2001 and established Teva’s European litigation team in 2008. Since her employment at Teva, Gonen has led the company through many successful IP litigations. During this time, she has also earned a doctorate degree on the subject of secondary patents in the pharmaceutical industry.

Gonen has won numerous awards, including Highly Recommended General Counsel of the Year in 2016.

According to Teva, the company has a portfolio of more that 1,800 molecules and produces up to 120 billion tablets and capsules a year. The drug maker also claims to rank among the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world.

Teva states on its website: “Teva is committed to increasing access to high-quality healthcare for people across the globe, at every stage
of life.”

It adds: “We do this by developing, producing and marketing affordable generic drugs as well as innovative and speciality pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.”