We Conducted an Interview with Barış Özyurtlu, General Manager of Berko İlaç

We conducted an interview with Berko İlaç General Manager Barış Özyurtlu, discussing the company's R&D center and investments, and the importance of technology in the medical field.

Could you tell us about yourself and your professional background?

I am a pharmacist. I started my professional career in 2002 working at Berko İlaç. After seven years as Regional Manager, I worked in community pharmacy for approximately four years. In 2014, I returned to Berko İlaç as Deputy General Manager. After serving as Deputy General Manager for two years, I was appointed General Manager in 2016 and currently serve as General Manager of Berko İlaç. I served as a Board Member at the Diyarbakır Chamber of Pharmacists for four years. Currently, I hold the position of delegate at TEB (Turkish Pharmacists Association), and I am a Trustee Board Member of İVEK and Chairman of the İVEK Pharmaceutical Industry and Technologies Commission.

Could you share with our readers the success story of Berko İlaç, which began in the laboratory of Diyarbakır Beran Pharmacy, both its past and present?

Berko İlaç, which began with community pharmacy practice in the 1970s by Pharm. Berat Beran and took its place in the pharmaceutical industry as Berko İlaç and Chemical Ind. Inc. in 1984, continues to work and produce to improve public health. With the vision of "being first and only in its chosen niche," Berko İlaç brings innovative products not previously on the market to the sector and Turkish medicine, and also stands out with many innovative marketing applications such as the spoon formulation it developed. As a 100 percent Turkish-owned company, Berko İlaç serves Turkish medicine and global health with 127 products, over 700 employees, and world-standard production facilities covering 21,000 square meters of closed space. Berko İlaç has grown 150 percent over the past five years, maintaining its position among the fastest-growing companies.

Could you provide information about the activities at your production facilities? How do you define product-environment-employee safety, which is your priority in the production facilities?

Our production takes place at our Istanbul Sultanbeyli facility, which consists of three plants we call Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III. Our Phase I Production Facility, which became operational in 2008, has approximately 5,000 m2 of closed space and produces liquid and solid form products. The main pharmaceutical dosage forms produced are syrups, suspensions, emulsions, tablets, film-coated tablets, capsules, and sachets. Our Phase I Production Facility has an annual production capacity of 43.62 million boxes. Our Phase II Production Facility, which became operational in 2012 and has 5,000 m2 of closed space, produces liquid and semi-solid form products. The main pharmaceutical dosage forms produced in this facility are syrups, suspensions, emulsions, probiotics, reservoir caps, drops, sprays, ointments, creams, lotions, gels, spray-gels, ovules, and suppositories. Our Phase II Production Facility has an annual production capacity of 42.4 million boxes. Due to increasing production demands, our Phase III Production Facility, with approximately 11,000 m2 of closed space, was inaugurated in November 2018 with an annual production capacity of 56 million boxes.

Berko İlaç Production Facilities produce pharmaceutical products licensed by the Turkish Ministry of Health and dietary supplement preparations licensed by the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock.

Berko İlaç, which has completed FDA registration for its production facilities for dietary supplement products, also serves the pharmaceutical industry in contract manufacturing. Currently, contract manufacturing is performed for 14 companies. Product safety in our production facility is ensured through a system established according to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) standards and conditions, covering the facility design, equipment selection, and all processes from product manufacturing to distribution. Our company is extremely sensitive and has a strong sense of responsibility regarding environmental and employee safety. In accordance with all applicable legislation on environmental and employee safety, we have established procedures and taken all necessary precautions.

Could you provide information about your domestic and international sales activities?

Berko İlaç, a strong brand in the Turkish pharmaceutical market, has made significant progress in the export sector since 2016. Through foreign trade activities, we have signed contracts with 41 countries; active trade has begun with 16 of them, while licensing work continues with the remaining 25 countries. Berko İlaç exports to countries including the United States, Canada, and Azerbaijan; Georgia, Iraq, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Vietnam, South Korea, Lebanon, Sudan, Dagestan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Saudi Arabia. Moving forward with confident steps toward becoming a world brand, Berko İlaç, in addition to its export initiatives, recently earned the right to participate in the "Turquality Brand Support Program," implemented by the Turkish Ministry of Economy to create "Global Turkish Brands." Berko İlaç will receive support under the program for four years and will accelerate its success in the export sector.

What is the difference of your Phase III Production Facility, which you recently inaugurated, from your other production facilities? What advantages will it bring to your products and the sector?

Berko İlaç, to add new innovative products and technologies it has introduced and to meet increasing production demands, planned and inaugurated the Phase III Production Facility with the goal of increasing the capacity of our Phase I and Phase II Production Facilities from 86.02 million boxes to a total of 142.02 million boxes through 65 percent growth. Thus, Berko İlaç now has 21,000 square meters of closed space and an annual production capacity of 142 million boxes.

How do you define R&D? Could you tell us about your R&D activities as Berko İlaç?

R&D comprises creative work conducted on a systematic basis to expand the body of knowledge consisting of human, cultural, and social knowledge and to use this body of knowledge to design new applications. Pharmaceutical R&D fundamentally consists of two stages: basic research and clinical research. In Turkey's pharmaceutical sector, R&D work is conducted primarily through generic (equivalent) drug development work along with necessary clinical research. Due to the passion for innovation of our founder Pharm. Berat Beran and his desire to develop different innovative products, R&D has always been very important at Berko İlaç. Thus, Berko R&D, with the aim of presenting innovative products followed in the sector and answering community needs through R&D activities, employs researchers, pharmacists, chemists, engineers, and technicians with the competence to present different technical approaches and maintain R&D activities based on scientific logic, and develops products for domestic and international markets in compliance with national and international regulations.

What are the investments you have made in R&D? Could you share with our readers the contributions these investments have made to your products?

R&D means qualified personnel. For this purpose, we began our R&D investments primarily by increasing the number of qualified personnel. Subsequently, our R&D laboratories, with improved physical conditions, larger space, equipped with high-tech equipment, and an investment of approximately 11 million Turkish lira made in 2018, received R&D Center approval from the Ministry of Industry and Technology on 30 July 2018 after a successful inspection process. As Berko İlaç, I believe that being an accredited R&D center will significantly contribute to our efforts to develop advanced technology products that will increase our competitive strength at an international level.

What new products will you launch to the market in the coming period?

As Berko İlaç, we have products in therapeutic areas such as Pediatrics, Dermatology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Family Medicine, and Otolaryngology, and in the coming period, we will continue to work and produce in these areas with different active ingredients and products. In addition to these areas, we aim to focus more heavily on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Internal Medicine, and Orthopedics; our new products for these areas are in the R&D and licensing stages. We have business development and R&D processes underway for our high-technology, high-value-added product projects.

What are the social responsibility projects you carry out?

Berko İlaç, which places social responsibility among its priorities, adopts an understanding that considers social interests as well as corporate interests and develops projects accordingly. Through its main projects such as Berko Children's Theater, "No Obstacles on Ice" ice skating team, "Welcome Baby" newborn unit visits, "Pharmacist's Career Path" pharmacy school career presentations, and "Let's Be Proactive," Berko İlaç contributes to society. At the same time, we meet the needs of village schools, provide scholarships to students in need, and carry out projects with many foundations and civil society organizations.