GE Healthcare and Yeditepe University Sign Cooperation Agreement to Advance Biological Drug Sector in Turkey

GE Healthcare Life Sciences and Yeditepe University have partnered to accelerate the development of bioprocess projects and increase productivity in innovative drug development in Turkey and the surrounding region. As part of this collaboration, GE's Fast Trak Technology and Training Laboratory was established at the university.

The laboratory, which began operations in May, will promote new collaborations between Turkey's rapidly growing biopharmaceutical sector and academia.

Prior to Yeditepe University, the GE Healthcare Life Sciences Fast Trak Technology and Training Laboratory opened in March 2016 and operates at the GE Turkey Innovation Center, hosting scientific events and Fast Trak training programs for approximately 450 scientists and biopharmaceutical sector representatives to date. The Fast Trak Technology and Training Laboratory established by GE at Yeditepe University is equipped with the most advanced laboratory-scale technologies for upstream and downstream bioprocess stages, bioreactors, chromatography systems, and protein research technologies.

These technologies will be used by local GE bioprocess experts who will provide applied technology training and process development services to customers in the region. Scientists at Yeditepe University will also receive training here and will have access to advanced technologies needed to carry out their projects.Yeditepe University Rector Prof. Canan Aykut Bingöl stated regarding the collaboration: "The biopharmaceutical sector in Turkey has strong growth potential and this academy-industry collaboration will make an important contribution to increasing R&D activities in the sector.

Additionally, it will help provide the country with a richer and more compatible biopharmaceutical facility. Through this collaboration, by ensuring our researchers' access to high-quality bioprocess technologies and expertise, we will enhance bioprocess competencies and capabilities in this field." Noting that the biopharmaceutical sector has grown at approximately 15% over the past five years in Turkey, GE Healthcare Life Sciences Fast Trak General Manager Umay Şaplakoğlu commented on the collaboration: "Over the past five years, the government has provided incentive programs aimed at accelerating biopharmaceutical research and related R&D activities. Having the necessary competencies and infrastructure to support this positive move, which is the most important basis for our investment in the Fast Trak center in Istanbul, is of great importance. To strengthen R&D and production support in the biopharmaceutical field, we need to increase our engagement with existing and future capabilities. For this reason, we will continue to strengthen our relationships with academia and establish our Fast Trak center at Yeditepe University while continuing to serve our sector customers." GE Healthcare Life Sciences Turkey and Middle East Region Business Director Levent Gündeğer stated: "By selecting the right focus areas, we are sharing our expertise and experience to accelerate drug discovery work to world standards and enhance competencies and capabilities in the bioprocess field. We are very enthusiastic about establishing collaborations with universities in Turkey and the biopharmaceutical sector."