The "National Drug Production Period" in Cancer has begun

The "National Drug Production Period" in cancer has begun. TÜBİTAK will enable the production of biotechnological drugs that will treat certain diseases such as cancer and kidney failure, within the framework of the national medicine project.
Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Nihat Ergün said, “The application for the biotechnological drug call came in more than expected. We have started the national drug production period," he said.

TÜBİTAK pressed the button for the production of high-cost drugs, which Turkey imports the most, and for new drug studies. Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Nihat Ergün said, “We made a call for biotechnological medicine, we received many more applications than we expected. 26 consortia came out. TÜBİTAK will give 6% support to the project,” he said. Minister Ergün said that TÜBİTAK is working on the 'National Pharmaceutical Project' at a conversation meeting with a group of journalists. Stating that they included the health sector among the priority sectors at the Science and Technology High Council meeting 68 months ago, Ergün emphasized the importance of developing technology in this regard. Mentioning that medical technologies are one of the fields that will carry Turkey forward, Ergün stated that there are 30 companies producing drugs in Turkey and that 5 thousand people work in the sector. Ergün said that XNUMX pharmaceutical companies also have R&D centers.

51 PERCENT IS IMPORTED

Ergün said, “All of the drugs produced in Turkey are generic drugs. So we haven't found the molecule. You find molecules through chemical research and you produce drugs from molecules. Then his patents expire, they become generic, and you can produce or develop them," he said. Noting that approximately 49 percent of the drugs on the market are drugs produced in Turkey and 51 percent are imported drugs, Ergün said that 75 percent of the drugs on the market are produced in Turkey and 25 percent come from abroad.
Emphasizing that drugs that treat important diseases and have high prices, when looking at their qualities, come from abroad, Ergün said that for this reason, they made the drug issue a priority in Turkey and that TÜBİTAK called for biotechnological drugs. Ergün continued as follows: “So you find molecules in chemical drugs and you make it the main raw material of the pharmaceutical industry. You create cells in biotechnological research, you make the cell the main element of the pharmaceutical industry. Thus, you have the opportunity to produce personalized medicine, even specific to the disease. For this, we made a call at TÜBİTAK regarding the development of biotechnological drugs. We aim to produce biotechnological drugs that will treat diseases in certain areas such as cancer and kidney failure, such as diabetes, hepatitis, liver inflammation, and hormone production.”

26 consortiums that said 'I produce' came out

Noting that those who say 'I can produce this' presented their project, Nihat Ergün said: “As TÜBİTAK, we will give 26% support. We expected less, but 10 consortia came out. Biotechnological drugs are the field where the world is just at the beginning. We must not miss this area. The biotechnological pharmaceutical field will gain a very important place in the pharmaceutical industry for the next 20-XNUMX years. We saw this last year at fairs in Chicago before that in Boston. Research centers focus entirely on this. Now, in a sense, Turkey has started the national drug production period in biotechnological drugs with this study. A product will emerge as a result of an average of three years of research and development. For example, the discovery of a cell that can be used in the treatment of cancer or in the treatment of a type of cancer may arise in this first phase, second phase research. After that, clinical trials will begin, which is a separate field. It's not something we're going to be discussing right now. The first subject we deal with at TUBITAK is the first and second phase, that is, the researches until a cell emerges.”

 

source : hurriyet

📩 02/12/2013 13:25