Atatürk University Develops Turkey's First National Drug

Scientists at Atatürk University have developed Turkey's first nationally-developed drug with international patent protection for health problems such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Depression. The drug, produced by a team led by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hacımüftüoğlu, Associate Professor at the Department of Medical Pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine, and faculty members from the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, stands out as a new synthesis, original "First National Drug" with international patent rights held domestically. Rector Prof. Dr. Ömer Çomaklı made the following remarks on the matter: "As you know, our government has included in the 2020 Presidential Annual Program the objective of increasing high-value-added product exports, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector, to strengthen our competitive position in the global market and advance our country higher in the value chain. In order to achieve this goal, our university is endeavoring to fulfill the tasks assigned to it. Active pharmaceutical ingredient synthesis, one of the initial stages of drug production, is currently conducted abroad, and there are certain disruptions in the procurement of foreign chemicals, which consequently causes delays in production. Due to such disadvantages, the most important objective is to design and produce in our country new synthesis original drugs whose chemical composition is unknown and which have not been previously discovered or produced. In this context, interdisciplinary studies began in 2013 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hacımüftüoğlu, Associate Professor at the Department of Medical Pharmacology, with the contributions of faculty members from various departments. Our research team discovered Turkey's first original molecule derived from non-plant sources, proved the drug's efficacy through preclinical studies, and obtained international patents from Japan in 2019 and from the United States this month. Our product currently holds the distinction of being Turkey's first nationally-developed original drug with international patent rights held domestically. Following this stage, clinical phases will be completed and the drug will be made available to humanity. Our expectation is that clinical drug research will be completed by taking certain steps that, despite appearing financially difficult, can be solved through some shortcuts, the drug will reach the world market in the shortest time possible, and our country and humanity will be able to benefit from this drug," he said.