Domestic Cancer Drug Manufacturer Onko&Koçsel Receives Export Award

Türkiye İhracatçılar Meclisi (TİM) led the 18th edition this year of the "Stars of Exports" competition, in which Onko&Koçsel İlaçları, a domestic cancer drug manufacturer, was recognized with an award in the "Original Product Champion" category, which identifies companies exporting products for the first time from Turkey. The awards ceremony of the competition, held annually to encourage export development and increase its share in the country's economy, took place with the participation of Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, TİM President İsmail Gülle and important representatives from the business world. The competition, which identifies hidden champions that reduce import dependency in production and generate high-value products and employment, received applications from 513 companies, with 22 companies receiving awards in 13 different categories. Participating in the awards ceremony, İrfan Koç, Chairman of the Board of Onko-Koçsel İlaçları, and Tuğçe Koç, Chief Executive Officer, received the award in the "Original Product Champion" category, which identifies companies exporting products for the first time from Turkey.

Exporting domestic cancer drugs to 25 countries

Tuğçe Koç, Chief Executive Officer of Onko & Koçsel İlaçları, expressed her satisfaction with the award they received in the export field, saying: "Even in a period when protectionist tendencies in trade are increasing, global economic threats have reached critical levels, and trade is negatively affected by viral outbreaks, we are still achieving success as a country. At our facility in Gebze OSB, spanning 29,000 square meters and the only plant in Turkey with all production lines holding European GMP certification (Good Manufacturing Practice), we currently have a total of 96 licensed products, of which 54 are manufactured and 42 are imported. We aim to increase the number of licensed products to 200 within 3 years. We export to a total of 25 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Our goal is to manufacture oncology drugs domestically, 95 percent of which are currently imported. We aim to reduce our import dependency and make our country known in this field worldwide," she said. The 18th edition of the "Stars of Exports" competition this year was organized by Türkiye İhracatçılar Meclisi (TİM) under the collaboration of Dünya Gazetesi and DHL Express, with Akbank as main sponsor and Turkcell as communications sponsor.