Biotechnological Drugs in Turkey

Turkey's pharmaceutical industry is among the sectors leading the country's industrial transformation, with a long-established production culture, advanced technology, high added value, qualified workforce and export potential. Our industry exports to 150 countries with over 11,000 products, 74 facilities producing to international standards, 10 raw material production facilities, approximately 500 organizations and 35,000 employees. As the Pharmaceutical Industry Employers' Association, we are working towards our industry becoming a global pharmaceutical producer and exporter in line with Turkey's 2023 targets. Naturally, R&D is at the center of this transformation. In this context, we are focusing on R&D activities and particularly on biotechnology work. In recent years, our sector has experienced exciting developments in R&D. Our companies continue to increase their R&D work day by day and are investing in innovation by demonstrating innovative activities in many different areas. The number of accredited R&D centers, which was 4 in 2010, has risen to 29 today. Between 2010-2016, our R&D spending increased by 138% to reach TRY 219 million.

Within the scope of new developments in science and technology, plant and chemically-derived drug production is rapidly being replaced by biopharmaceuticals globally and in Turkey. The usage rate of biopharmaceuticals worldwide has reached 20% and continues to grow.

A similar situation exists in our country. In Turkey, biopharmaceuticals held approximately 16.5% of the prescription drug market in 2016 with a value of TRY 3.4 billion. As the Pharmaceutical Industry Employers' Association, to increase our industry's competence and competitive strength in this area and make a more effective contribution to the development of this field in our country, we established the Turkey Biopharmaceutical Platform at the end of 2016. The Platform is an open organization for all pharmaceutical companies that have or are planning development or production activities in the biotechnology field in our country. Our Platform members' completed and ongoing physical investments in biotechnology amount to USD 820 million, and their R&D spending on completed and ongoing studies amounts to USD 485 million. We believe significant developments will occur in this area over the next 5 years. Biopharmaceuticals constitute 28% of imported products in the Turkish pharmaceutical market. Developing and producing these products we depend on imports will not only increase patient access to these medicines but also contribute significantly to the country's economy by reducing the foreign trade deficit.

Significant steps have been taken in our country regarding R&D and biotechnology incentives. These steps have also increased the sector's interest and investment in this area.

However, to compete effectively with our competitors, we need increased public support for R&D and biotechnology investments and the establishment of different incentive mechanisms. When we examine the countries we compete with, we see that direct incentives produce faster and more certain results alongside tax incentives. Moreover, since R&D in pharmaceuticals is a process that requires high investment and takes a long time, determining the amount and duration of support within this reality is important. In our country, there are products whose R&D has been conducted using public funds provided by institutions such as the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology and TÜBİTAK. It would be the correct approach for other relevant public institutions to clear the way for these types of products supported during the development phase by public institutions in the commercialization phase as well. We have a serious labor shortage in the biotechnology field. As work in this field progresses, our labor needs increase. Through close communication and cooperation with our universities, we are striving to address this gap. The greatest support our universities can provide to industry is the training of qualified workforce. In addition to these, creating a regulatory climate that supports our goals, particularly ensuring that the licensing, pricing and reimbursement systems are regulated in a way that makes investment meaningful, is of great importance.Biopharmaceuticals     Turgut Tokgöz General Secretary Pharmaceutical Industry Employers' Association (İEİS)