R&D
R&D in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Research and development in the pharmaceutical sector involves exhaustive, time-consuming and expensive processes. The R&D process encompasses a 12-15-year development period, covering the first discovery, which requires an average investment of $880 million, of a drug molecule to the time it is made available for use by physicians. Therefore, the drug is a product of the information production industry, and not a branch of the chemical sector, as generally thought.
The basic objective in pharmaceutical development is making a proper change to improve the lives of people. Before a drug or vaccine developed can be used, there must be proof that it has a preventive, therapeutic or symptom-reducing effect on a disease or illness.
The pharmaceutical sector needs both reference and generic drugs to be able to enhance the quality of life of people.
The First and Largest Pharmaceutical R&D Center in Turkey
Abdi İbrahim's new R&D center in Esenyurt is a model, across the board - from technological equipment to architecture, not only for the pharmaceutical industry but for all sectors, and is a concrete indication of the importance Abdi İbrahim places on R&D.
Abdi İbrahim has its sights on being a world brand; accordingly, it devotes 5% of annual turnover to R&D, thereby focusing on expanding and improving its product portfolio. The company employs more than 140 experts in its innovation activities in the field of the development of reference and generic drugs in the sector's largest R&D center. The company aims to use its R&D to develop new and innovative products, to achieve high success in its work on bioequivalence, to speed up the development of generic drugs, to prepare, CTD files for both Turkey and Europe, and to develop other value added products. In addition to the projects the company carries out internally, Abdi İbrahim is conducting product-improving know-how transfers by developing joint projects with scientific establishments at home and abroad. Abdi İbrahim is company in the pharmaceutical sector having the most projects being conducted jointly TÜBİTAK. It makes an average of 10 patent applications per year and, since 2008, has obtained a total of 32 patents, making it a leading company in this area.
The World Health Organization's Good Manufacturing Practices - GMP and Good Laboratory Practices - GLP standards are used in studies conducted with state of the art equipment.
Abdi İbrahim's On-going R&D Investments
Making innovation key to all its business activities, Abdi İbrahim maintains stable investments in R&D. The company develops value-added drugs in its accredited pharmaceutical R&D Center, the first of its kind in Turkey, which came about through a $40 million investment made in 2008. Through these drugs it develops, it is marketing alternative generic products that have the same active ingredients as reference products. These products facilitate treatment at a lower cost.
Two innovative product development projects carried out for the first time in the world are the result of Abdi İbrahim's innovative spirit. The first of these is the ODT tablet (Orally Disintegrating Tablet), which was developed to address the difficulties patients have in swallowing tablets and capsules, thus making it difficult for treatments to continue. The ODT tablets, developed in the R&D center through Abdi İbrahim's emphasis on healthcare, can be taken without water orally in these cases. Thus, patients having difficulty using medication can easily follow the treatment prescribed by their physicians.
Through the other project, two separate molecules (analgesic and non-steroid anti-inflammatory) were combined into a single tablet. These molecules were combined like this for the first time under the auspices of Abdi İbrahim. The "combination therapy," used effectively by doctors for different illnesses, is supported through this project.
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