Clinical Trials in Türkiye
Firstly, it is official – Turkey is now Türkiye. This change took place past summer when the United Nations officially recognized the new name.
With a population of over 85 million, a well developed universal healthcare system, a relatively low per capita number of clinical trials, a large pool of treatment-naive patients, Türkiye is a hidden gem in clinical research. This is the reason why the number of biotech and pharma companies that are getting engaged in Türkiye has been on the rise and the volume of clinical trials has been doubling for the last 3 years.
Over the past couple of decades, the country has steadily worked its way to establish a strong reputation in the area of clinical trials. Today, the efforts have come to fruition, as seen by the rising number of stakeholders looking at Türkiye for their next trial.
Country Overview
Türkiye, officially known as the Republic of Türkiye, lies between two continents: Europe and Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, and eastern Mediterranean. Its transcontinental location enables it to form strong economic and academic connections with the surrounding countries.
According to the most recent United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook, its land area covers more than 780 thousand square kilometers.
At a Glance: Türkiye’s Health and Pharmaceutical Industry
- As of the year 2020, the life expectancy at birth is 78 years on average. The share of people older than 69 is 6.1%.
- Data from UNICEF (2020) indicate that the infant mortality rate is 9.5 deaths per 1000 live births.
- Anadolu Agency, a state-run news network in Türkiye, reported that the pharmaceutical market in the nation reached $6.7 billion in 2020. The country now has more than a 100 pharmaceutical plants, 33 R&D centers, and manufactures around 12,000 medical products.
Reasons to Conduct Clinical Trials in Türkiye
When it comes to the conduct of clinical trials, this nation can be considered one of the emerging players on the world stage. According to the 2020 report published by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), Türkiye ranks 26th globally in terms of the number of performed clinical trials .
This rather formidable ranking is a testament to Türkiye’s growing focus on clinical research. Here are some of the reasons why pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are drawn to this country.
- High number of enthusiastic physicians and dedicated clinical research staff
- Higher percentage of treatment-naive patients interested in participating in clinical trials and easy access to them
- Well-reputed research sites with strong technological infrastructure capabilities, on par with international standards.
- Full compliance with GCP and quality standards
- Modest number of trials per patient
- Moderate clinical research costs and investigator fees
- GMP certificate is sufficient for regulatory submissions as the EU QP Statement is not required
Snapshot of Türkiye’s Clinical Trials
Cromos Pharma – A Contract Research Organization with operations in Türkiye
Cromos Pharma has an experienced local team that effectively manages regulatory and contracting processes to ensure that studies can be initiated in the shortest period of time possible. We recruit highly educated and experienced staff that assures that each trial managed by our team in Türkiye produces exceptional data quality and reliable results.
Cromos Pharma combines global expertise with in-depth local experience and knowledge that translates into exceptional patient recruitment. Our team has met or reduced enrollment timelines in 95% of the conducted trials.
In case you are considering conducting clinical trials in Türkiye, the Cromos Pharma team would be happy to answer any of your questions.
