Germany Was the Largest Source of Pharmaceutical Imports

In the Turkey Pharmaceutical Sector 2020 report published by TEİS, Germany remained the country with the highest pharmaceutical imports, as in previous years. In 2020, 61.6% of pharmaceutical imports from 90 countries came from the Europe region. Turkey's total pharmaceutical imports in 2020 reached USD 5.64 billion, with Germany accounting for the largest share. Pharmaceuticals imported from Germany in 2020 amounted to USD 1.116 billion. Germany was followed by the United States, South Korea, Italy and China respectively. Comparing import rates year-on-year, pharmaceutical imports from South Korea increased by 45%, rising from USD 414 million in 2019 to USD 598 million in 2020. Imports from France, on the other hand, declined by 26%, falling from USD 406 million in 2019 to USD 299 million in 2020. The region with the most intensive pharmaceutical exports was Asia at 62.4%. When examining the countries to which exports were made in 2020, exports were realized to 177 countries, primarily the European Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, North Africa and Middle East countries. Pharmacist Nurten Saydan, General President of the Turkish Pharmacists Employers Association, stated: "In 2020, total pharmaceutical imports reached USD 5.64 billion, while pharmaceutical exports amounted to USD 1.836 billion. Looking at the data, we see that we are still significantly dependent on imports in pharmaceuticals," and continued: "These figures show that pharmaceutical imports cause billions of dollars of foreign currency to leave Turkey. In particular, work on the production and use of locally-manufactured pharmaceuticals, especially personalized medicines requiring high technology, needs to be accelerated urgently. When we examine EU countries, we see that generic medicines and domestic production are supported in each country. In EU countries, when patients come to pharmacies with prescriptions, if they do not make a specific request to the pharmacist, the pharmacist dispenses the locally equivalent medicine. Doctors who prescribe locally manufactured medicines also receive incentives from the state thanks to legal regulations in these countries. Of course, the most important part of the doctor, pharmacist and patient chain is the patients themselves. Equivalent medicines need to be explained very well to patients. It should be explained that equivalent medicines are the same as original medicines, and that domestic pharmaceuticals should be chosen for the country's economy. In this way, we can create a conscious national pharmaceutical policy," Saydan said. Noting that prescriptions should urgently switch to active ingredient nomenclature, Saydan stated: "For equivalent medicines to be used more widely, prescriptions should contain active ingredients rather than commercial names. Reducing the burden on the budget from treatment and pharmaceutical spending and ensuring medicine availability is only possible through supporting domestic pharmaceuticals. In this context, to make equivalent medicines widespread, prescriptions should switch to active ingredient nomenclature as a priority," he said. TEİS http://ticaretgazetesi.com.tr/turkiye-2020de-5-milyar-640-milyon-dolar-ilac-ithal-etti http://saglikdunyasidergisi.com/haber-turkiye-2020-de-5-milyar-640-milyon-dolar-ilac-ithal-etti-10432.html Source