CPhI Istanbul highlights Turkish pharma growth of 15.6%

The next five years will see more outsourcing, vaccine, biotech development and harmonisation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region according to CPhI organisers, UBM EMEA

Key growth drivers for the region were forecasted at CPhI Istanbul (June 1-3, 2016), with outsourcing, vaccine development and biotechnology emerging as major trends, UBM EMEA said.

CPhI Istanbul attracted over 4465 attendees from countries such as Jordan, Iran, Lebanon, India, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Georgia, along with Turkish pharma companies for commercial discussions, knowledge sharing and analysis.

Over the next five years, UBM EMEA said experts forecast that regional outsourcing will continue to accelerate as governments seek to have more medicine produced locally.

Haluk Balcı, chief operating officer in Turkey in UBM EMEA (Istanbul), commented on a CPhI Turkey pharma report released at the event, which showed the Turkish pharma economy having grown by 15.6% in the last year to reach 15.9 billion lira.

Balcı said:  “The biggest development in 2016 for the pharma industry is the initiative commenced by the government to reduce imports and increase local production in the pharma industry.

“Certainly the developments in localisation will set the course of the Turkish pharma industry in the years to come.”

Overall, third party manufacturing is forecasted to expand in the MENA region as many companies do not want to have established assets everywhere, so decreasing the burden of headcount and direct exposure is important, especially if demand and volumes are not reaching the critical mass to have owned assets, according to UBM EMEA.  As a result, third party manufacturing is the preferred option for multinationals and SMEs looing to enter the market.

The company also said that as the emerging CMOs become established and more confident, investments across advanced technologies and biotechnology will increase.

Nevertheless, experts warned that for the region to reach its full potential, a number of changes and challenges needed to be overcome such as authorisation from multiple regulatory bodies.

However, UBM EMEA said that with increased investment and government support, companies are now addressing existing gaps in their manufacturing and infrastructure.

Philipp Haas, chairman of board of directors and CEO of DEVA, said: "Turkey is reinforcing its regional leader role, owing to its logistic and economic characteristics in the area.

“We believe that our country has the potential to become a regional base for the pharma industry. In fact today, we see that our country is a centre of attraction in this sense. 

“However, there are a number of steps needed to realise this; supporting local production and R&D investments and stimulating export are very important for achieving the regions potential.” 

Big pharma representatives acknowledged that there is strong basic infrastructure and knowledge for the manufacture of solid and liquid medicines in MENA, but according to UBM EMEA, manufacturing cost per unit is still high due to not reaching a critical mass of production, outside of the generic companies.

Haas said: “This is now predicted to change as local and regional demand for medicines is increasing, as are regional healthcare budgets. As a result, with the economies’ gentrifying, consumer products will grow and antibiotics, cardiovascular and GI generics will remain the biggest products classes.”