Researcher Pharmaceutical Companies Association (AIFD) General Secretary Ümit Dereli said that in order to achieve the “regional base in medicine” target determined within the framework of the 11th Development Plan and 2023 vision, we need to make progress in R&D as well as production and export.
Stating that 62 percent of the global $ 180 billion of pharmaceutical R&D investments come from clinical trials, Dereli said, “When we aim to get 1 percent of global clinical research reaching about 110 billion dollars, we should increase the investments from 330 million dollars to 1 billion dollars.” Turkey’s goal of becoming a manufacturing base in the drug Dr. We laid on the table with Dereli.
– The value of investing in drugs and vaccines with Corona virus was also understood. Is there any study to develop new drugs and vaccines in our country?
We know that many university-industry-public cooperation projects on pharmaceuticals and vaccines are ongoing but have not been released yet. There are studies carried out by TÜBİTAK and TÜSEB.
– Turkey is taking share how the global pharmaceutical market?
The world pharmaceutical market is about $ 1.1 trillion. Turkey accounts for about 0.6-0.7’s percent of this market.
– 2023 has regional bases in Turkey made the target of the drug production. What kind of studies are being done on this subject?
In order to realize this vision, an appropriate ecosystem needs to be created. In the past 10 years, AIFD members have invested 2.4 billion dollars in our country. These firms from eight regional centers in Turkey, while 15 of them running here several regional functions. Our pharmaceutical exports, which amounted to 1 billion dollars in 2019, are on the rise. Our members have produced 1.9 billion boxes of drugs worth $ 2.6 billion in the last 3 years in 10 production facilities.
– In this case, I think we are not very far from the target…
As emphasized in the 11th Development Plan, besides production and export, our country should be a regional base in R&D. 62 percent of annual $ 180 billion of global pharmaceutical R&D investments come from clinical trials. If we get 1 percent of the clinical research of about 110 billion dollars, we attract over 1 billion dollars of investment every year.
Currently, the value of clinical research is 130 million dollars a year directly, along with the economies of $ 330 million. Our aim should be to increase the clinical studies 2 and 3 times with the effective incentive system and to be among the top 15 and 10 countries in 26th place in terms of clinical research.
COVID-19 VACCINATION CAN FIND 2022
– What is the cost and duration of producing a drug molecule?
According to the Tuffts Institute, developing a drug requires an investment of $ 2.6 billion and a 10-15 year journey.
– Everyone is looking forward to the Covid-19 vaccine. When do you think it is found?
In the most optimistic scenario, it seems that a vaccine will be available in late 2021 or early 2022.
– What are the potential countries?
According to the World Health Organization, companies engaged in vaccination development are mostly US-based. Canada and China follow. However, “borderless” collaborations of pharmaceutical companies from different countries also draw attention.
