Santa Farma Expands Cooperation with MEALIS
Santa Farma advanced the strategic partnership it established with MEALIS Middle East Life Sciences last month. Under the new agreement signed, the sales, marketing and distribution rights for a medicine containing iron III hydroxide polymaltose and folic acid as active ingredients, used in the treatment of iron deficiency anemia, have been transferred to MEALIS.
Santa Farma commissioned its production facility in 2015 for the Turkish pharmaceutical industry, featuring the latest production and building technologies across 43,000 square meters of enclosed space, established through a EUR 150 million investment in the Dilovası district of Kocaeli. The facility, which has annual single-shift production capacity of 150 million boxes and holds EU-GMP, TR-GMP and Jordan GMP certifications, not only manufactures Santa Farma products for Turkey and export markets, but also provides localization support to global and domestic pharmaceutical companies importing products from abroad. Adopting healthy living at every age as its principle, MEALIS began operations in Dubai and Beirut in 2013 and started activities in Turkey in 2014. MEALIS operates in 35 different countries including Turkey, across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa in the pharmaceuticals, medical devices and nutritional supplements sectors. Committed to contributing to the development of the pharmaceutical industry, its sustainability and the future of public health, MEALIS Turkey conducts promotion, marketing, sales and distribution of original and generic pharmaceutical products. Under the strategic partnership agreement signed, the sales, marketing and distribution rights have been transferred to MEALIS for a medicine containing iron III hydroxide polymaltose and folic acid as active ingredients, licensed by Santa Farma in 2006 and made available to Turkish medicine, used in meeting iron and folic acid requirements during pregnancy and lactation periods; and in preventing and treating anemias caused by iron deficiency resulting from various causes.Iron Deficiency Anemia
Iron is a substance naturally found in all cells throughout the body and plays a role in many physiological processes of vital importance, particularly in blood formation and oxygen transport to tissues. Hemoglobin is the protein containing iron in its structure and responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood to tissues. Anemia, commonly known as blood deficiency, results from a reduction in red blood cells in the blood and the hemoglobin contained within them. According to the World Health Organization's definition, anemia is defined as hemoglobin levels below 13g/dl in males over 15 years of age, below 12 g/dl in non-pregnant females over 15 years of age, and below 11 g/dl in pregnant women. Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia worldwide and in Turkey, with one quarter of the world's population affected by iron deficiency anemia. While iron deficiency anemia is most frequently seen in infants and pregnant women, it is followed by women of reproductive age. It is also highly prevalent in the elderly. In adults, iron deficiency anemia occurs in 1-2 percent of cases, and in those over 65 years of age in 12-17 percent of cases.Advertisement
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