"Turkey Could Become the Star of the Pharmaceutical Sector"

The application by the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK), which is under the Ministry of Health, for full membership in the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, which sets global rules in the pharmaceutical field, was unanimously approved at the council's meeting on 27 May. Adil Pelister, Chairman of the Board of the Istanbul Chemical Substances and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB), issued a written statement on the matter.

Pelister made the following assessment:

"The International Council for Harmonisation, which was established by the pharmaceutical authorities of the United States, the European Union and Japan and aims to harmonise regulations worldwide, has now certified through Turkey's full membership that activities conducted in the pharmaceutical field in our country meet international standards. The International Council for Harmonisation publishes pharmaceutical regulations that will guarantee that medicines are effective, safe and of high quality across the world. In this context, having a say for our country in drug development and manufacturing processes will not only enhance our international reputation but will also accelerate exports from our Turkish pharmaceutical sector. In particular, the struggle and humanitarian approach shown by our country during the pandemic period drew the attention of the entire world to us. I sincerely congratulate everyone, especially our Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca and TİTCK President Dr. Hakkı Gürsöz, whose Ministry of Health conducted this process with great success and whose TİTCK contributed to giving our country this honour during this difficult period. I believe that this gratifying development will be reflected positively in our international trade in the coming days. Research and development work on vaccines and medicines to be used in the treatment of COVID-19 continues seriously in our country as well. The discovery of a vaccine and medicine to end the pandemic, whichever country it may be, will be a tremendous development for humanity. At a time when the pharmaceutical sector has gained serious importance, we at İKMİB continue to work with all our strength so that the Turkish pharmaceutical and medical sectors can make important breakthroughs on a global scale for our country. I believe that Turkey will also be a leader in this field."