Future of the Pharmaceutical Sector Discussed at Turkey Pharmaceutical Industry Strategy Meeting

The Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD) Health Sector Board held a meeting on "Turkey's Pharmaceutical Industry Strategy." The meeting addressed sectoral issues. At the meeting, which was also attended by MÜSİAD Chairman Abdurrahman Kaan, speakers included MÜSİAD Health Sector Board Chairman Levent Can, Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK) President Dr. Hakkı Gürsöz, Istanbul University Faculty of Pharmacy Dean Prof. Dr. Erdal Cevher, Pharmaceutical Industry Employers' Association Board Member Öztürk Oran, Biotechnology Industrialists Association (BİYOSAD) Board Chairman Dr. Ercan Varlıbaş and Centurion Pharma Board Chairman Ersin Erfa. Chairman Abdurrahman Kaan delivered the opening remarks of the program. Emphasizing that the pharmaceutical industry has a giant industrial structure as one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world, Kaan stated, "As a giant developing globally, which we describe as showing no signs of slowing down, one of the indicators is current figures from the sector. The global pharmaceutical market has reached USD 1.10 trillion according to 2017 figures." Noting that the Turkish pharmaceutical market was TRY 13 billion in 2010 and reached TRY 24.26 billion in 2017, Kaan stated that the Turkish pharmaceutical market ranked 17th globally.

Domestic Producers Should Be Supported, Production Conditions Should Be Eased

Underscoring that it is impossible to accept the position of the Turkish pharmaceutical industry in domestic production when considering the increase in sector drug needs, he stated: "There is imported drug dominance in the sector. As Turkey, we now need to break this. It is gratifying to see that there is strong political will on this matter. Therefore, as policymakers, the private sector, universities and NGOs, we need to come together and raise domestic pharmaceutical production to a level that will free the sector from import dependency as soon as possible. Incentive mechanisms should be established and priority should be given to supporting domestic producers and easing production conditions. When we look at drug sales, oncology drugs come first. Oncology drugs, which see annual sales increases, are expected to reach 17.5 percent of the global market share by 2022. This is a very serious figure." Speaking at the panel, Pharmaceutical Industry Employers' Association Board Member Öztürk Oran noted that the world's top 10 pharmaceutical companies produce in Turkey. Stating that this is an encouraging situation for the future of the Turkish pharmaceutical industry, Oran said, "We need to increase our research and development work. Unfortunately, we do not have a molecule of our own in this country today. We do not have a drug we can be proud of. Our sectors have leading achievements in every respect, but when it comes to this, we are somehow unable to produce a molecule. When we produce pharmaceutical raw materials, are we profitable or unprofitable, is there a country we can sell to? That is also debatable. Why? Because today you cannot compete with India and China."