The opening ceremony of the "Development and Production of National Biosimilar Cancer Drug - BİOSİM" and "National Pandemic Influenza Vaccine - GRİPA" projects of TÜBİTAK MAM Institute of Gene Engineering and Biotechnology, initiated by TÜBİTAK and its project partners, was held at TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE on October 02, 2015.
With the launch of the National BİOSİM and GRIPA Projects, our country's dependence on foreign countries for biotechnological products in the field of health will decrease, and a major step will be taken in line with the policies of bringing the necessary technological know-how and experience for domestic production to our country.
Fikri IŞIK, Minister of Science, Industry and Technology, Mehmet MÜEZZİNOĞLU, Minister of Health, Hasan Basri GÜZELOĞLU, Governor of Kocaeli, Prof. Dr. Erol ARCAKLIOĞLU, Vice President of TÜBİTAK, Assoc. Dr. Bahadır TUNABOYLU, President of TÜBİTAK MAM, Assoc. Dr. Hacı Ali MANTAR, TUBITAK TUSSIDE Director Tezer BATTAL, Gebze District Governor Mehmet ARSLAN, Darıca District Governor Ömer KARAMAN, AKP Kocaeli Provincial Chairman Şemsettin CEYHAN, Gebze Mayor Adnan KÖŞKER and other protocol guests, as well as project partners NOBEL Pharmaceutical Company Chairman Hasan ULUSOY, SENTEGEN Company Founder Burak YILMAZ, Public Health Institution of Turkey, MEDİPOL University, ISTANBUL University officials and many other guests.
In the opening speech of the program, which started with the project introduction film, TUBITAK MAM President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bahadır TUNABOYLU said, "With the launch of BİOSİM and GRIPA projects, our country's dependence on foreign biotechnological products in the field of health will decrease thanks to these technologies to be realized nationally."
Minister IŞIK said, "A big step will be taken in line with the policies of bringing the necessary technological know-how and experience to our country for domestic production and Turkey will start production in health. We know how important it is to nationalize the pharmaceutical industry. We have world-class hospitals and doctors. Turkey is becoming a center of attraction in the field of health. We must produce with our own national means. I would like to thank those who contributed to the formation of the project."
Minister MÜEZZİNOĞLU stated that he was proud to be at the opening of such two important projects and said, "Two national projects are being put into service. They are of great importance for our country. We are a nation that has achieved significant achievements in the field of science. In 2018 and 2023, we will have reached the desired targets. The world of science is very important. The state is behind the spirit of science and entrepreneurship."
After the opening ceremony, which attracted great interest, laboratory visits were organized at TÜBİTAK MAM Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Institute.
"National Biosimilar Cancer Drug Development and Production Project - BİOSİM"
Every year, 8 million people worldwide die from cancer. Intensive efforts are being made to fight cancer and new cancer drugs are being introduced to the market. However, it takes many years to develop a new cancer drug. The cancer drugs on the market are both expensive and time-consuming to obtain due to their high cost and importation from abroad.
The global market size of antibody-based biotechnological drugs is around USD 40 billion. Turkey spent 1.64 billion Turkish Liras on biotechnological cancer drugs in 2014 alone. Turkey has made a new breakthrough in the field of biotechnological drugs in order to reduce foreign dependence on cancer drugs and to establish domestic production.
The BİOSİM project is designed to develop and produce a biosimilar anti-cancer drug to be used in cancer treatment at world standards, in partnership with public R&D and the domestic pharmaceutical industry, using domestic resources in line with TÜBİTAK's objectives. In this context, the necessary infrastructure for biotechnological drug production technology will be prepared and biosimilar antibodies will be developed and produced in living cells on a small scale. After the properties of the produced drug are checked and approved in our laboratories in accordance with international standards, it will be produced in large quantities within Nobel Pharmaceuticals and used in animals and clinical studies.
With the completion of the BİOSİM project, which is supported by TÜBİTAK with a budget of 21 million Turkish Liras, significant contributions will be made to the national economy and scientific knowledge, and a biotechnological pharmaceutical infrastructure with high standards that can compete in the international arena will be brought to our country.
With the BİOSİM project and the infrastructure to be established within this scope, TÜBİTAK MAM Institute of Gene Engineering and Biotechnology aims to be a pioneer in the development of new biosimilar molecules and new projects for the development of biotechnological original drugs, and to have a say in the development of biotechnological cancer drugs in Turkey.
"National Pandemic Influenza Vaccine - GRIPA"
Vaccines are the most effective means of protection against global influenza pandemics, which can have devastating effects on public health and the economy. The vaccine is a strategic product in terms of both providing protection before the onset of flu symptoms and preventing the spread of the flu. Turkey is completely dependent on foreign countries for the supply of flu vaccine and is under a serious threat in the event of a pandemic. Turkey's ability to produce its own pandemic flu vaccine is critical for public health as well as for socioeconomic impacts. In the event of a pandemic, the influenza virus required for the vaccine needs to be rapidly obtained, propagated and replaced, if needed, for an effective vaccine. Moreover, since pandemics are a global threat, enough vaccine needs to be produced for a very large population. The recent influenza pandemic has highlighted the need to re-examine current vaccine technologies in terms of the quantity and speed of vaccine production.
Today, the budget allocated to prepare for potential pandemic influenza outbreaks has reached USD 10 billion worldwide. As recommended by the World Health Organization, each country should be able to produce its own vaccine to ensure national security and prevent socioeconomic losses in the event of a pandemic.
The National GRIPA project will provide Turkey with an advanced technology that will enable the production of fast, safe, highly efficient and effective vaccines during a pandemic. At the end of the project, it is aimed to create and produce the synthetic virus required for the vaccine as soon as possible at the beginning stages of the pandemic and to develop the process to create the vaccine. With this national technology, Turkey will take its place among the world countries producing pandemic vaccines.
