Sanovel CEO Hülya Yalın Answered Our Questions

In the interview we conducted, Sanovel CEO Hülya Yalın answered our questions. Yalın described the history and development of Sanovel, and provided information about their R&D activities and the Sanovel UNIque Young Talent Program.

We would like to know you better. Could you tell us about your education and professional career?

I am a graduate of the Biochemical Engineering Department at Växjö University in Sweden. For over 25 years, I have held various positions and responsibilities at global and local pharmaceutical companies with the same passion and enthusiasm from day one. Throughout my career journey, I have worked with valuable teams across various therapeutic areas. Currently, I have the privilege of serving as CEO of Sanovel, one of the leading companies in the Turkish pharmaceutical industry.

Could you provide information about Sanovel's current structure and production facilities?

Sanovel's journey, marked by successes that have shaped the Turkish pharmaceutical industry, began 41 years ago with the foundations laid by pharmacist Erol Toksöz. Today, our company continues its operations with over 1,600 employees, modern production facilities meeting world standards, built on an area of 125,000 square meters, with a production capacity of 227 million boxes per year. At our Istanbul Silivri facility, designed by German engineering company PharmaPlan and equipped with the latest technology, we continue our work with a team of approximately 550 people working in R&D, production, quality, logistics and management. With our strong portfolio covering more than 60 brands and over 180 products, we are proud of bringing accessible treatment options to public health and of waving our flag around the world through exports to 5 continents. I would also like to share that our EU GMP-approved production facility passed rigorous inspection processes in 2023 and received FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) approval for the second time. As the first and only Turkish pharmaceutical company to receive FDA approval without major and critical findings in 2018, we are proud to receive approval for the second time with a high success rate and to re-certify the compliance of our processes with international standards. [caption id="attachment_159204" align="aligncenter"] Sanovel CEO Hülya Yalın[/caption]

Could you provide information about Sanovel's product groups and exports?

We are proud to make significant contributions in the export field, strengthened by our 41-year-old established history. Our exports, which began in 2005, now reach more than 30 countries, spanning from Canada to South Africa, from the US to Europe, with more than 400 licenses. With the ANDA (Abbreviated New Drug Application) approval we received in 2019, we are the only Turkish pharmaceutical company with the right to sell finished products in the US market. In the near future, while expanding in developed markets such as Europe and North America, we aim to strengthen our position in emerging markets such as the Middle East, Gulf Cooperation Council countries, South-West Asia and LATAM. With our broad product portfolio, we focus on many therapeutic areas. We have products in pain and inflammation, endocrine and metabolism, infection, gastrointestinal, hematology, hepatology, cardiovascular, multiple sclerosis, neurology, psychiatry, and respiratory fields.

The pharmaceutical sector requires intensive innovation and R&D activities. Could you provide information about your work in this area?

The work at our R&D Center and our world-standard quality approach are among the most important forces behind our company. Through this, we have pioneered numerous innovations and successes in our sector, serving as an example to the Turkish pharmaceutical industry. Patents are at the forefront of these matters. At our R&D Center, we are proud to develop first generic product formulations in the same and different dosage forms, achieving 100 percent domestic innovations and unique successes in the patent field. Looking at Turkey's Patent Report published in 2023, the fact that we are patent champions in our own sector and rank high among all sectors is the greatest proof of our success. Looking at our company's history, we can see that this success is no accident. We have previously achieved many similar successes. Turkey's first US patent in the pharmaceutical formulation field was obtained by Sanovel. We are the only pharmaceutical company that has achieved first place in Turkey in the list evaluated by the Ministry of Industry for intellectual property competencies of all companies and all sectors. We rank first on the European Patent Office's list of companies making the most patent applications by sector. The common point of all these achievements is our focus on science and innovation. We will continue to develop innovative formulations and bring new products to Turkey and the world, and protect our commercialized products with patents.

Could you describe the Sanovel UNIque Young Talent Program and the goals of this program?

We launched the UNIque Young Talent Program to support young people's passion for development and to guide them in their career choices. Within the scope of the program, young people can work in the most suitable department and unit in line with the field they wish to experience and the areas of interest determined in the evaluation process. Although we call this process an internship program, in fact, UNIque participants work on projects like Sanovel employees and can take on tasks parallel to the department's operations. In this way, our young people gain experience in different business processes, discover their areas of interest, and have the opportunity to deepen further in that field. Our young talents have the opportunity to experience the journey of medicine up close through technical tours we organize at our R&D Center and Production Campus. We included 50 unique talents in our program last year. We aim to increase this number with our new talents and contribute to both our company and employment in the Turkish pharmaceutical sector.

What are Sanovel's strategies and initiatives regarding sustainable production and environmental sensitivity?

As a company, we conduct all our activities within a framework of respect for the environment, people and society, and we consider leaving a more livable and greener world for future generations as our most fundamental responsibility. Within this scope, we are carrying out important work in the field of sustainability. We set targets to control our environmental impacts and reduce resource consumption, and we regularly monitor our environmental performance. Through energy, electricity and water management projects implemented in our facility, we achieve significant improvements. As a result of our work, we have earned the right to receive a Zero Waste certificate from the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. Additionally, as part of our goal to reduce our carbon footprint, we are preparing to implement various sustainability projects.