The Turkish pharmaceutical industry employs approximately 47,500 people. As of the end of 2020, there were 870 organizations in the sector. These organizations include 109 pharmaceutical and radiopharmaceutical drug production facilities that produce at international standards, 4 special medical purpose diet food facilities, and 13 raw material production facilities. The pharmaceutical sector exports to 185 countries and plays an important economic role by selling approximately 15 thousand products in the domestic market.
Türkiye Pharmaceutical Industry Report
According to the ‘2023 Turkey Pharmaceutical Sector Report’ prepared by the Pharmaceutical Industry Employers’ Union, there are a total of 230 distributor companies in the Turkish market. 38 of these companies operate only with imported drugs, and 121 operate only with manufactured drugs. The 71 companies with the largest share in the market operate with both imported and manufactured drugs and represent a significant portion of the market in terms of value and volume. According to the report, price increases have a high impact on growth in the pharmaceutical sector, and it is stated that 81.6 percent of growth in 2023 will be due to price increases.
Market Share of Domestic Production of Medicines is Increasing
The share of domestically produced drugs in the Turkish pharmaceutical market is increasing significantly. Last year, the market size of domestically produced drugs increased by 103.5 percent to 122.1 billion TL, while the market size of imported drugs increased by 78.5 percent to 88.9 billion TL. While the increase in manufactured drugs in terms of value is remarkable, the growth in the market share of domestically produced drugs continues.
Growth in the Hospital and Pharmacy Channel
The Turkish pharmaceutical and medical health products market grew by 90.4 percent in the hospital and pharmacy channel in 2023, reaching 231.5 billion TL. On a box basis, 2.93 billion boxes of medicine were sold, growing by 3.6 percent. The entry of new drugs into the market contributed positively to growth, and the general growth trend of the market continued.
Medicines Covered by Reimbursement
In the Turkish pharmaceutical market, the market value of drugs covered by reimbursement reached 199 billion TL in 2023. This shows that 94.3 percent of the value of drugs sold consists of drugs covered by reimbursement. Price increases play an important role among the factors affecting growth in the pharmaceutical industry.
Medicine Export and Import
Turkey’s pharmaceutical exports increased by 16.2 percent in 2023, reaching $2.23 billion. The value per kilogram of exports also increased, reaching $1.57. Imports increased by 7.8 percent, reaching $5.74 billion. Countries such as South Korea, Hungary and Georgia are in an important position in exports, and Turkey continues to cooperate with these countries in pharmaceutical industry exports.
