Turkish Pharmaceutical Industry Continues Production

Turkish pharmaceutical industry maintains uninterrupted production in 2023. According to industrial production indices, total industrial production in 2022 rose 5.7%, manufacturing production 6.8%, and chemical sector production 4.4%, while the pharmaceutical industry closed the same period with a 13.7% increase. Pharmaceutical Industry Employers' Association stated in a declaration that 'no period or condition can create an obstacle to sustainable pharmaceutical supply security and citizens' access to medicines, which is of critical importance, and to pharmaceutical production.' On a GLOBAL scale; many countries including the United Kingdom, France and Germany face supply problems in pharmaceutical production and pharmaceutical active and excipient materials. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, increased seasonal illnesses have created additional demand, resulting in global pharmaceutical shortages particularly in cold remedies and antibiotics. Additionally, commodity prices and cost increases at unprecedented levels are adversely affecting the pharmaceutical sector. However, despite all these challenges, the Turkish pharmaceutical industry continued to increase pharmaceutical production in 2022 and in the first quarter of 2023. Savaş Malkoç, General Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Industry Employers' Association, made the following remarks on the subject: "Our country has a deeply rooted and strong pharmaceutical industry with a century-long history, high production technology, capacity and qualified workforce, which continuously makes R&D and advanced technology investments to maintain its strength in global competition. With our world-standard production capacity, we meet 90% of our country's pharmaceutical needs on a box basis through domestic production. We take pride in this. Through this, we achieved what many countries could not during the Covid-19 pandemic period and the aftermath. We continued production despite all difficulties, ensuring that our country and citizens never went without medicines, including during the pandemic period. As the Turkish pharmaceutical industry, just as yesterday, today we continue to produce for our citizens' access to medicines, create added value for our country and work at full speed. The industrial production index figures announced by TÜİK demonstrate our competence and strength in the pharmaceutical field. While total industrial production in 2022 showed a 5.7% increase, manufacturing production 6.8%, and chemical sector production 4.4%, pharmaceutical industry production growth was 13.7%." [caption id="attachment_151557" align="aligncenter"] Savaş Malkoç, General Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Industry Employers' Association[/caption]

Significant support to earthquake zone

The Pharmaceutical Industry Employers' Association, working in full coordination with public institutions and private sector organizations, particularly the Ministry of Health, to help heal the wounds of the earthquake disaster, continues its support without interruption according to the needs in the region. Savaş Malkoç continued his remarks as follows: "We are in profound sorrow due to the earthquake disaster that occurred in our country. As the Pharmaceutical Industry Employers' Association, together with our member companies, from day one we have been working intensively under the coordination of the Ministry of Health and Turkey's Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Institution to deliver medicines and medical supplies to the region. Within this scope, through the Association alone, we have delivered nearly 1.3 million boxes of medicines to the region, exceeding TRY 110 million to date. Under the coordination of the Confederation of Turkish Employer Associations (TİSK), of which we are a member, we also sent our truck carrying relief materials needed to the region in the first days of the earthquake. Additionally, our member companies have been continuing their humanitarian assistance from day one both to employees affected by the earthquake and to the region in general."