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The Royal College of Pharmacy's (RCPharm) interim chief executive Karen Baxter appeared to deny that it banned Teva UK from exhibiting and sponsoring at the professional leadership body’s annual conference which was held in London today.

Fielding questions at the event about the RCPharm's decision to remove Teva UK, the British arm of Israeli pharmaceutical company Teva Pharmaceuticals, as a sponsor and exhibitor, Baxter was asked by one delegate what Teva UK had been "convicted of to force them to be removed?”

She challenged any suggestion that the RCPharm had banned Teva UK from exhibiting or sponsoring by insisting “ban is a very strong word”. She also said RCPharm’s decision was not “about what Teva were convicted of” but “about reflecting what our journey is moving to becoming a charity”.

According to its website, the RCPharm is a charitable body incorporated under Royal Charter and registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales and the Scottish Charity Regulator in Scotland.

“We engaged with Teva under a different policy and as I think it’s clear over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of contention about whether we should, or indeed shouldn’t, be involved with Teva UK,” Baxter said.

“As a charity, we cannot afford to get into a political debate and we have to focus on our objectives. And so, what we are doing as part of our general transition is reviewing all of our policies and making sure that they are right for a charity.

"Unfortunately, in that, the position with Teva no longer met our new policy positions and that’s why we no longer have a relationship with them.”

Last month, the RCPharm said its decision to remove Teva UK followed “a further due diligence review” which brought to its attention “the possibility of certain Teva Pharmaceuticals activities which do not align” with its values.

The RCPharm did not elaborate on what that “due diligence review” contained and what “certain Teva Pharmaceuticals activities” were and Baxter also failed to provide clarity on any of that.

This issue has become a distraction which is why we’ve parked it for the future

When asked if the RCPharm's decision risked unintentionally stoking anti-Israel sentiment and rising levels of antisemitism – a survey by the Campaign Against Antisemitism found eight out of 10 British Jews identify with Israel as the Jewish homeland – Baxter said: “This is about us delivering on our objects as a charity for patient and public benefit and elevating the profession.

“This issue has become a distraction which is why we’ve parked it for the future.”

A letter sent in September to the RCPharm’s executive team by pro-Palestine activists, signed by pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, demanded the “immediate cancellation” of Teva UK’s sponsorship and exhibition at the conference. The RCPharm announced its decision the following month. 

The letter made a series of allegations about Teva supporting the Israeli military and committing "corporate malfeasance". Teva said it does “not make donations to political parties, political organisations or military entities in any country" and adheres to "international laws" and "local regulations".