Start-Up Entrepreneurship Platform to Bring Together Health Entrepreneurs

TÜSAP Health Platform organized the 6th Vision Meeting in Healthcare titled 'Localization and Nationalization in Pharmaceuticals', held on 3 September 2018 at the Bezmiâlem Institute for Life Sciences and Biotechnology, with the participation of Health Ministry officials including Deputy Health Ministers Prof. Dr. Muhammet Güven and Prof. Dr. Emine Alp Meşe, leading figures from the pharmaceutical sector and academics. The meeting agenda on pharmaceutical localization efforts included three main topics: transition from imports to manufacturing, health initiatives (start-up) platform project and vaccine localization projects. The meeting, realized with contributions from the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (AİFD), Pharmaceutical Industry Employers Union (İEİS) and EY, featured speeches from TÜSAP Executive Board Chairman and Medipol University Rector Prof. Dr. Sabahattin Aydın and Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency President Dr. Hakkı Gürsöz.

Large Pharmaceutical Companies Seeking Access to New Molecules to Meet with Start-Ups

Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency President Dr. Hakkı Gürsöz, stating that they are preparing to establish a platform that will bring health start-ups together under one roof regarding domestic production of innovative products, said: "According to FDA data, in 2016, 13 of 19 new pharmaceutical molecules were developed by entrepreneurs. Business models are changing globally. As new technologies become important in pharmaceutical R&D processes, large pharmaceutical companies have begun collaborating more with entrepreneurs. Rapidly declining R&D productivity in recent years has increased the importance of start-ups, while opening the way for mergers and acquisitions by large pharmaceutical companies seeking access to new molecules. In this regard, we attach great importance to the Start-up Entrepreneurship Platform that will bring together health entrepreneurs. The implementation is planned to be realized with public mentoring and guidance. When we started our work, we examined similar structures in many countries. The Bioinception Incubation Center established in Bangalore, India was one of them. It has tremendous infrastructure. India has shown the will to establish such a center and I am confident that in the very near future we will all witness innovative pharmaceuticals coming out of that center.