CPHI Istanbul hosts government and industry to strengthen Turkey’s role as MENA’s pharma hub

300 content sessions stimulating new ideas to propel Turkey towards a top-ten pharma economy.

Turkey is already established as the regional pharmaceutical hub, and with the fastest growth rate in the OECD — averaging 6.7% per year from 2011-2018 — it is working towards the Government’s target of becoming a top ten global healthcare economy by 2023. Key to this transformation is CPHI Istanbul, which will run a high level conference in parallel to the exhibition — specifically designed to provide vital market information, key growth opportunities, and create new strategic alliances to ensure future business success.

The Turkish pharma market has an end-user spend of US$9.1 billion and is already the seventh largest in Europe, with around 80 production facilities, 20,000 employees and direct access to the pharma markets of the Middle East and North Africa. As a result, CPHI Istanbul has seen rapid growth and has cemented its role as the key event for pharmaceutical solution suppliers from across Turkey, the Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa, and South East Europe.

In the last few years, there has been a surge of industrialisation within Turkey, as the population gentrifies, and as a result, demand for higher quality pharmaceutical products is increasing. In fact, the Turkish Ministry of Science, Industry, and Technology (AIFD)’s Strategy Report, confidently predicts that the country is set to become the regional production base for medium- and high-level technology products.

Another factor contributing to rising international interest is that the Turkish pharma market still relies heavily on imports, representing 50% of the total industry output. However, a critical consideration for international suppliers looking at market entry is access to robust business intelligence to inform better decisions.

CPHI Istanbul will feature a free-to-attend conference, focused on key legislative and regulatory updates, providing sound advisory intelligence and independent practical insights for pharma manufacturers, and domestic/international buyers and suppliers. The programme is built around six core areas: 'Policy & Regulation', 'Business & Investment', 'Manufacturing', 'R&D, Innovation & New Technologies', 'Supply Chain' and 'Foreign Markets'.

The conference bridges both East and West perspectives, and key sessions include: ‘Positioning Turkey as a Regional Pharmaceutical Hub’; ‘Creating an R&D Centre Based on Entrepreneurship & Innovation: The Case for Turkey as a Pharmerging Country’; ‘Generating Value through Innovation: What the Turkish Pharma Industry Has to Offer within MENA Context?’; and ‘The Case for Turkey: Transition from Import to Local Production in Pharmaceuticals and Subsequent Need for Harmonising Supply Chain Structures’.

Orhan Caglayan, Group Director at UBM Turkey, commented: “This event has already been a huge success in the last 3 years and continues to showcase both the international and domestic appetite for pharmaceutical business. With many international attendees, and the support of regional industry and government, this event is now integral to the progressive advancement of manufacturing. It’s a diverse and evolving market, so to maximise the opportunities available, CPHI also provides a huge content platform to help both attendees and exhibitors make better-informed decisions and see the full scope of potential in this high-growth region.”

Other highlights at CPHI Istanbul 2016 include

“At our booth we had the opportunity to meet most of our business partners and distributors. Our beautiful city Istanbul attracted many international visitors to join CPHI, which provided business development opportunities between companies from different continents,” Ms. Sibel Nitelik Ödemiş — API Sales Executive & South America Region Account Manager, MN Pharmaceuticals.