Pharma Turkey Dergisi Eylül – Ekim 2017 Sayısı

What are the goals you set for the Turkish market?
We have a common distribution channel and it is very
important for these patients. We’re in production of existing
licensed products, but also a leading government
agency. FDG agent, is now known and widely used. We are also
R & D and P & D. In Turkey, there is no other organization with
that extensive R & D and P & D team. Both in Gebze we
have our own R & D and P & D team. In addition, we cooperate
with Ankara University. We are developing common drugs at
the RÜAG facility with Ankara University. These drugs
are in the literature, but we are developing these drugs for the
first time in Turkey. Some are used in the diagnosis of cancers
and some other for diseases. In Alzheimer’s disease,
including brain scanning can also be used. Our R & D team are
trying to develop with our instructor at Ankara University and
even doing animal experiments. Even less so
in Europe, which began to give the first fruits of the work we
do at this facility. We were able to produce a very special
product such as Fluorodopan to (FDOPA)
and Floroestradiol (FES) there. We have not yet realized the
stage of licensing, but will be presented to the service of our
people once they are licensed. Parkinson’s
and Alzheimer’s disease in the FDOPA being used, you
know that Alzheimer’s is still an incurable disease. States
spend less due to there is no treatment for this disease. Now
Alzheimer’s diagnosis not available but FDG PET and F DOPA
scanning is an important touchstone for diagnostic of AD
and PD. Probably nuclear medicine will play a very serious role
in diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer and Parkinson. We
expect it to be in the immunotherapy and genetically and these
are new cancer diagnosis and treatment systems. Nuclear
medicine will play a very important role in this field and we
started our work.
You are doing big investments in Turkey. Do you get along
with state authority and give incentives?
We use certain incentives when we made investments but we
want to use more incentives in research and development
activities. There are a number of incentives that we can
use. Maybe more can be done. We can even produce these
products abroad, we can export. But our dimension is a bit
small. So we are below the thresholds of these incentives.
Do you want to meet your overseas demands by exporting or
by making production in that region?
We also have overseas facilities in production. We have our own
facilities in Romania, Bulgaria and Egypt. Apart from that, we
are producing contracted products in Kuwait and
Dubai. We are probably there for 10 years as we carry out our
production and we are regularly inspected by
authorities in both of these countries as well as Turkey TAEK
are regularly inspected by the Ministry of Health. Making
radioactive drug production has a huge responsibility. The
knowledge and experience here is very important. Beneficial to
public health fits under control and we are able to fulfill these
even in very difficult geography.
Do the states in the region you are investing support you?
They do not provide. Even not entering the European Union.
We realized even install facilities in Bulgaria, Romania and
Poland. The conditions were very difficult and there was no
other production facility. Cancer patients there find healing
with our products patients with diagnosis of Nuclear Medicine
started to improve the health standards of those countries. In
this way, the healthcare service is also getting cheaper because
it is not a cheap diagnosis in total, but when you look at the
total cost of treatment for a cancer patient, it seriously reduces
the overall cost. You apply the right treatment available in
early diagnosis. Nuclear medicine is the best way of
learning that drug is effective or not. We provide a serious
development of oncology and cardiology as well as nuclear
medicine. I can say that we can clearly see the development of
the health system in the places we go. In these regions,
demand was difficult to achieve in the first year, but demand
occurs much later. Firstly, doctors and health
professionals must be trained. “Radioactivity damage people
and environment fear” can exist. The result is a diagnosis
widely used in the United States and developed countries. If it’s
planned, it doesn’t harm the person.
Are there any other countries where you want to invest?
We are interested in developing geographies if there is
local investors.
In our production, we are exporting to 25 countries in longterm
isotopes up to India. We rely on the network of Turkish
Airlines in our transfers within the country. The airline is
important because our products needs to be on plane and
shipped very quickly. In the place we refer to, a special team
meets our product and takes them to the hospital immediately.
What do you want to add?
We attach great importance for new products. There are some
products that can be brought from abroad but only we can
produce them. In this sense, we also need more support from
the government. You are investing in facilities, but you are
having difficulty maintaining continuity when there is a problem
with that test. If we enter in procurement contracts and says
that you’re doing, but three times, it was announced and
banned if you can not deliver. You can not make a backup of the
facility because it is not economically sufficient. If you do not
establish any facilities, Turkey will not benefit from it unless you
enter the tender. Patients will either be victims or will come
from abroad at high cost, loss of foreign exchange. But if there
are disruptions in the production of our products making up
impasses like the state of being banned from bidding. Such a
special exception should be in the public should be supported, I
think.
Awareness of nuclear medicine in developing regions for
particular item is too low, but this is also a critical area. More
important element that this is a field, which will have more
space than today in the diagnosis and treatment in the long
term. We are searching every area for diagnosis and treatment
as well as nuclear medicine.
Pharma
September- October ‘17 29