In a reception held by the Ambassador of Italy to Turkey, His Excellency Massimo Gaiani, at the Italian Embassy in Ankara on October 14, Kedrion Biopharma’s Turkish subsidiary Kedrion Betaphar has announced that the company will establish a bigger direct presence in Turkey, with a reinforced and enlarged direct product portfolio, the hiring of Turkish executives and technicians, and plans to offer more therapies for Turkish patients with rare diseases.
Kedrion Betaphar has already acquired all product licenses from its former business partner, a move that implies employing more local staff and thus contributing to the country’s economy in a more tangible way.
Among distinguished guests attending the event were local clinicians, pharmacists, research centers, industrial associations, business partners and representatives from other major Italian pharma companies with a presence in the country. Corporate representatives from Kedrion Biopharma and local executives from Kedrion Betaphar also attended.
“I am very glad that an Italian company has decided to make an important investment in Turkey in the strategical health sector,” stated the Ambassador. “We are particularly proud also because the know-how provided by Kedrion will help patients in Turkey suffering from rare diseases. This is certainly another sign of the strong economic and commercial ties that link our two Countries and of the interesting opportunities that Turkey can disclose for Italian Companies in every field.”
“We are excited to be growing our presence in Turkey, which is one of the most important members of the G-20. Kedrion is thus building a more solid bridge between Italy and Turkey, and we are pleased to commemorate this milestone together with the Italian ambassador,” said Paolo Marcucci, Chairman of Kedrion Biopharma. “With our decision to have a direct presence here, we have paved the way towards new achievements: and more investments are foreseen to enlarge further our product offer for all therapeutic areas” he added.
With its commercial office located in Istanbul, Kedrion Betaphar has its company headquarters in Ankara, where very soon the staff will be moved to new premises and where a new warehouse will be built for product storage and sorting.
Mahmut Arslan, the Vice President of Betaphar, said he was certain that Kedrion’s expanded footprint in Turkey would yield positive benefits for patients across the country.
“Increasing our presence in Turkey,” said Kedrion Betaphar CEO Riza Ommaty “also means having the possibility to support Turkish patients more closely. We are the 7th fastest growing pharmaceutical company in Turkey in the last year according to IMS data and this is an honor but also a big responsibility towards patients communities.” Recently, Kedrion acquired Prometic from Liminal BioSciences Inc. in Canada. Prometic is the owner of the rights to market of a new Plasminogen concentrate that is the first product FDA-approved for the treatment of patients living with Congenital Plasminogen Deficiency type 1. “Plasminogen Deficiency is a problem in our country like elsewhere and so we really look forward to make this therapy available to patients in Turkey in the medium-term,” said again Riza.
