PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
LIKE MICHELIN STARS, WE AIM TO GET THE 3rd STAR IN PHARMACEUTICALS
The most important values that make CT Pharma Research different since its establishment and cause it to grow day by day is the sensitivity it has shown in the issues of "ethics and information security". CT Pharma Research sees its customers as a strategic partner, not just a customer. In this context, CT Pharma Research has also started to carry out product development activities for itself in the fields of pharmaceuticals, food supplements and dermocosmetics in 2015. We have started to reap the fruits of these efforts. We made our first drug license applications in 2018. In the same year, we released 2 of our patented food supplement products and 4 of our dermocosmetic products to the market. In this context, we established TFLL Pharma in 2017 for the licensing, sales and marketing activities of these products. This company, with the scientific power of CT Pharma Research behind it, continues its strategy of adding products suitable for the concept of healthy aging, especially starting from birth, to its portfolio.
Dr. Şerhan, you are an inspiring entrepreneur for our pharmaceutical industry. Before we move on to our interview, we would like to get to know you better and learn about important milestones in your career.
It is my hobby Michelin star chefs and to try their recipes. I am quite curious about this subject and the perspectives of these chefs on life is a subject that I am especially curious about. The kitchen of the pharmaceutical industry is R&D. As someone who has been working in this sector and R&D field, namely in the kitchen, for about 23 years, the person I take as an example is Alain Passard, a 3 Michelin star chef. I see many similarities between him and myself. One of them is when we choose this profession.
Alain Passard explains this very briefly: “I decided to become a chef when I was 14 years old.” I decided to work in the pharmaceutical industry and in the R&D department when I entered university, that is, when I was 17, and I never gave up on this idea. I entered the industry in 1996 as a biologist in the R&D Department of Bilim Pharmaceuticals. In parallel with my business life, I continued my academic career. I started the Molecular Biology master program in 1996 and completed it in 1999. In 2000, I started my doctorate program at Marmara University Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and completed it in 2007.
In 2003, I started working at the German company, İlsan-Hexal, which would later become called Sandoz, as the Chief of Formulation Development. In 2009, I worked as the Türkiye and Middle East Regional Technical Manager at Colorcon. In 2012, I founded my own company, CT Pharma Research; In 2017, I founded TFLL Pharma Turkey and also in 2017, under the same name, the Belgian company TFLL Pharma BVBA.
What kind of organization does your company, which carries out your marketing activities in Turkey, work with which products? What would you like to say about the main features of these products?
Operating since 2012, CT Pharma Research is a pharmaceutical research and development company, it continues its activities in TUBITAK Technopark. It carries out turnkey projects of generic pharmaceutical products to its customers in Turkey and abroad. Our research and development activities cover the fields of small molecules, biotech peptides and biosimilars, food supplements and dermocosmetics. Up to date, we have completed over 190 projects.
The most important values that make CT Pharma Research different since its establishment and cause it to grow day by day is the sensitivity it has shown in the issues of "ethics and information security". CT Pharma Research sees its customers as a strategic partner, not just a customer. In this context, CT Pharma Research started to develop products for itself in the fields of medicine, food supplement and dermocosmetic in 2015.
We have started to reap the fruits of these efforts. We made our first drug license applications in 2018. In the same year, we released 2 of our patented food supplement products and 4 of our dermocosmetic products to the market.
In this context, we established TFLL Pharma in 2017 for the licensing, sales and marketing activities of these products. This company, with the scientific power of CT Pharma Research behind it, continues its strategy of adding products suitable for the concept of healthy aging, especially starting from birth, to its portfolio.
We are the first company in Turkey to develop food supplements and invest in patents. Both of our products are of great interest to our physicians with their innovative features.
Under the brand of Custom Supplements, our products are available in the form of ODT tablets containing "Curcumin + Selenium" and capsules containing "Glutathione + Selenium".
TFLL Pharma BVBA was established in 2018. We are located in the Bioville Technopark of Hasselt University in the Flemish region, the northern region of Belgium. Within a year, we obtained 3 food supplement licenses. All of our brands are registered in the European Union. We have local consultants for both medicine and food supplements. We have CMOs dedicated to different dosage forms. Our production will start very soon. In addition, we have come to the position of providing support for companies from Turkey to work abroad. Flemish region has great potential for pharmaceutical R&D and it has a lot of common ground with our goals. We plan to use this place as a base for opening up to the world. We also started the sale of pharmaceutical know-how from Turkey to Belgium, which is a first for Turkey. TFLL Pharma BVBA, Flanders. It is also a member of Bio and Happy Aging platforms.
ODT tablet containing Curcumin + Selenium is the first product in the world to have ODT form with its wide range of clinical studies from cell culture to human clinical studies, as well as supplementing with selenium. The capsule containing Glutathione + Selenium is the highest dose in Turkey, and it provides high bioavailability with its supplementation with selenium and its insoluble feature in stomach acid.
Our dermocosmetic products under the Planto Baby brand are products developed for infant and child health, containing more plant extracts than any of the product groups available in the market. This group includes shampoo, diaper rash cream, moisturizer and massage oil.
How do you evaluate the importance of food supplements as health products?
My opinion on this subject is shaped by the impressions I have had abroad. “What should be done before being sick?” I ask myself. Because it is clear what to do after being sick. What should be done to prevent this from happening? For example, our way of life, physical activities are the first things that come to my mind. This is where nutritional supplements come into play.
Against external factors that we cannot prevent, which then cause diseases; The food supplements we need to use are gaining great importance. We, as TFLL Pharma, are working on food supplements that are likely to be needed throughout life. Developed for very specific goals I think we make a difference with our products. I believe that food supplements, especially such special ones, will support both individual and state budgets in the medium and long term.
Can we get information about the development of your foreign company, TFLL Pharma, from its establishment to the present?
I would like to answer this question in connection with the Michelin-starred chefs that I mentioned at the beginning, which is my area of interest. Just as for the first 2 stars, the quality of ingredients, mastery of preparation and cooking, creativity, paying for and the stability in quality standards, the integrity of the general ambiance with the menu, the quality of service, the innovativeness of the restaurant, the chef being the owner of the restaurant, the chef also working in Michelin-starred restaurants. While searching for criteria such as having a past; for the 3rd star, it is obvious that there must be some things other than these. In fact, although these are obvious, they are not so easy to implement. It is necessary to constantly work hard in order to constantly improve, develop and achieve greater perfection. The reason why we started our overseas operations was actually to get this 3rd star. In other words, to go further than where we are, to think about what we can do to reach more perfection and to always be in search. The 3rd star can only be obtained like this.
What kind of opportunities do you think there are in the field of biotechnology in our country?
I believe that biosimilar molecules have great potential in our country. These products are gradually shifting from import to manufacturing and many domestic companies are accelerating their development and production activities.
Another area we intend to add to our overseas activities will be organizing clinical studies that can take our potential customers in Turkey to other markets abroad.
We plan to start these activities soon with our strategic partners in the Flemish region, which is considered the heart of clinical studies in the world.
What steps should we take to develop R&D opportunities and culture in pharmaceuticals in our country?
My opinion on this issue is that we, as a country, should focus on basic sciences. Pharmacy technologies is an umbrella science and is based on the results of basic sciences. Our country has come a long way in this regard. We do not lag behind Europe in equivalent drug development and production technologies. However, as I mentioned above, when it comes to biotechnology or high value-added products, I think we need to go one step further. I believe that we need to work much more on this issue.
Thank you very much for your evaluations.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
