Prestige Award in Health Technologies for Abdi İbrahim at the Aziz Sancar Science, Service and Incentive Awards

Abdi İbrahim, one of Türkiye’s leading pharmaceutical companies, was deemed worthy of the Health Technologies Prestige Award within the scope of the Aziz Sancar Science, Service and Incentive Awards organized by the Turkish Health Institutes Presidency (TÜSEB). The company’s development in Türkiye of a biosimilar of an important drug used in cancer treatment, carried out as part of a project in collaboration with TÜSEB, was influential in the awarding of the prize. The award was presented to Abdi İbrahim Chairman of the Board Nezih Barut by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The award was given to Abdi İbrahim, the 100 percent domestic pharmaceutical company that has been the uninterrupted leader of the Turkish pharmaceutical sector since 2002, at a ceremony held within the scope of the 12th Turkish World Medical Congress, held under the auspices of the Presidency in İstanbul. The Aziz Sancar Science, Service and Incentive Awards, given by TÜSEB, which operates under the Ministry of Health, aim to support R&D, innovation, localization and scientific research in the fields of health sciences and technologies.

In the justification for the award, attention was drawn to Abdi İbrahim’s efforts in areas forming the foundations of pharmaceutical raw material and drug production in Türkiye.

Biosimilar of Cancer Drug Developed in Türkiye

The reference drug, used in new-generation smart cancer treatments and whose biosimilar was developed by Abdi İbrahim, became the world’s best-selling drug in 2025, reaching a global sales volume of approximately 31.7 billion dollars.

Abdi İbrahim developed the biosimilar of this drug not through technology transfer from abroad, but starting from the cell stage using its own developed clones, with its own scientific and technological competencies. The project is important for strengthening Türkiye’s biotechnological drug development and production capacity.

Nezih Barut: “We view biotechnology as a strategic field, just like the defense industry”

Abdi İbrahim, which has led the Turkish pharmaceutical industry for 114 years, continues its investments aimed at strengthening its drug development and production competency in biotechnology. AbdiBio, which the company brought to life with an investment of 150 million dollars, has infrastructure capable of producing biotechnological drugs from the cell stage to the final product.

At the facility, which has a capacity to reach a total annual bioreactor volume of 140 thousand liters with 2,000-liter single-use bioreactors, production of the active substance of biosimilar drugs has begun. With this infrastructure, the company aims to respond both to Türkiye’s need for new-generation cancer drugs and to international markets.

Abdi İbrahim Chairman of the Board Nezih Barut used the following statements in his assessment regarding the award:

“As Abdi İbrahim, we have been producing for this country for 114 years. We view biotechnology as a strategic field, just like the defense industry. Being independent in health is not only about producing drugs. One must have the knowledge, technology and trained people who develop that drug.

That is why we have been investing in biotechnology for years. We are developing the biosimilar of an important drug widely used worldwide in cancer treatment with our own clones, starting from the cell, by ourselves. Not through technology transfer, but with our own knowledge. In this project we are carrying out with TÜSEB, we have passed critical stages. Our goal is to present Türkiye’s first domestic biosimilar cancer drug to our patients in 2028.

Each project brings our country new technology and trained people. But our goal is not only to produce and sell drugs. We want to license the technology we have developed to the world. Türkiye should not be a country that receives technology, but one that sells technology.

When we established AbdiBio, we made ourselves a promise: We will not let a patient suffering from cancer also suffer the trouble of accessing medicine. We are walking the path that will bring us to this great ideal together with our state and TÜSEB. I thank TÜSEB. I congratulate all my colleagues who contributed to this success. We will continue to produce for our country and to improve lives, as we have for 114 years.”

TÜSEB President Prof. Dr. Ümit Kervan Draws Attention to the Importance of the Project

Speaking at the 12th Turkish World Medical Congress, TÜSEB President Prof. Dr. Ümit Kervan assessed the efforts to strengthen domestic drug development and production capacity in Türkiye. Kervan also touched on the biotechnological cancer drug project carried out with Abdi İbrahim, stating that concrete results of TÜSEB’s support for clinical research have begun to be obtained.

He stated that within the scope of the collaboration, production of an important molecule used in cancer treatment has begun in Türkiye, and that the first clinical studies in this field have also started.

Domestic Biosimilar Cancer Drug Development Project

The project, which Abdi İbrahim launched in 2022 in collaboration with TÜSEB, aims to develop the biosimilar of a molecule used in cancer treatment. The project, one of the pioneering efforts in Türkiye aimed at developing a biosimilar cancer drug from the cell stage with domestic means, is being carried out in collaboration with TÜSEB, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK) and the Ministry of Health. Abdi İbrahim’s biotechnology efforts are also supported within the scope of the HAMLE program of TÜBİTAK and the Ministry of Industry and Technology.

As a result of the scientific and technical studies carried out within the scope of the project, the biologically active component was produced for the first time in Türkiye in a 2,000-liter single-use bioreactor. The biosimilar drug candidate developed from the domestic cell bank established at AbdiBio was produced at commercial scale for use in Phase 1 clinical studies. The transition from laboratory scale to industrial scale is regarded as an important gain for Türkiye’s biotechnological drug development capacity.

The establishment of the cell bank, process and formulation development, and scale-up—all critical processes—were carried out entirely at AbdiBio. In this way, the accumulation of knowledge regarding biotechnological drug development and production was ensured to be built up in Türkiye.

It is aimed that the biosimilar drug candidate, whose global clinical trial process has begun, will be made available to patients in Türkiye and international markets after the completion of clinical studies and licensing processes, and following the expiration of the reference product’s patent protection period.

About AbdiBio

The foundations of Abdi İbrahim’s biotechnology investments were laid in 2015. AbdiBio, which became operational in 2018, operates as one of Türkiye’s largest biotechnological drug production facilities.

The facility, equipped with advanced bioprocess technologies, has infrastructure capable of carrying out the critical stages of biotechnological drug development and production, such as cell banking, process development, scale-up, production of the biologically active component, filling and packaging.

Abdi İbrahim aims to carry the competency it has built at AbdiBio into new biotechnological drug projects, to contribute to reducing Türkiye’s external dependency in critical drugs, and to reach a stronger position in international markets with high value-added products.