Kibbutz Maabarot Shuts Down Terima Pharmaceutical Company After 85 Years

Terima, a historic pharmaceutical company founded 85 years ago by Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann, is closing its operations. The company, currently owned by Kibbutz Maabarot, informed its approximately 130 employees last night that after extensive efforts to find a buyer or alternative solutions, the kibbutz decided to cease Terima's production activities. The decision followed unsuccessful attempts to sell the company as a whole while ensuring its continued operation. Terima is best known for marketing Postinor, the emergency contraceptive pill dominating Israel's birth control market. Import products, including Postinor, will be transferred to Altman, a natural health products company also fully owned by Kibbutz Maabarot. Previous efforts to sell Terima, which has been losing between 10 and 20 million shekels annually, to Rafa (backed by FIMI fund) and to Kafatz (backed by Fortissimo fund) fell through. Terima was acquired by Kibbutz Maabarot in 1962, and most of its employees work outside the kibbutz. The closure marks the end of an era in Israel's pharmaceutical industry.