GE Healthcare’s life sciences business has officially launched a new research scheme to help foster Turkish bioprocessing development and manufacturing, through its latest Fast Trak Bioprocessing Technology and Training Laboratory in Istanbul. Based in GE’s Turkey Innovation Center, the R&D Laboratory is well-located to support the region’s rapidly growing biopharmaceutical and biotech industry, and help position Turkey as a global R&D and manufacturing hub.

Turkey has Europe’s sixth largest pharmaceutical industry and is poised to become a significant player in the global biopharmaceutical market1. The country’s vision for its healthcare industry includes a bold strategy by Turkey’s Scientific and Technological Research Council (TüBITAK@) to support R&D and address skills shortages through a range of grant schemes and industry-academia collaborations. GE’s research scheme sits within this framework by offering support for academic collaborations through access to its new technology and training facility.

The Laboratory is equipped with GE’s innovative bioprocessing and research technologies, and supported by a team of local GE bioprocessing experts to help build up local biomanufacturing skills and expertise in Turkey. The facility is already available to customers in the region for hands-on practical training and process development through GE’s Fast Trak training program, and will now be made available to successful applicants from universities and research institutions to support their research projects.

Professor Hasan Ali Çelik, deputy minister of Science, Industry and Technology, said, “The share of high-tech products in our exports is around 3 to 4%. We should increase this ratio to the level of 15%. For this purpose, we should focus on increasing the added value work in the well-established sectors and we need to take serious steps in new-generation sectors. In this respect, the pharmaceutical industry stands out here as a critical sector. In particular, the level which we are in gene technology, has been indicating that the 21st century can be defined as ‘century of biotechnology.’

“We want to increase the effectiveness of our country in the field of biotechnology and in the pharmaceutical sector as well. We think the Life Sciences Technology and Training Laboratory … would be conductive to very good developments in this regard. We believe the products which will be developed in this laboratory will provide significant contribution to Turkey's economy and offer important services to humanity. On this occasion, I thank GE for bringing this laboratory to our country.”

Myra Eskes, General Manager, GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences business, Eastern & Africa Growth Markets, said, “We are proud to provide a start-to-finish offering for the global bioprocessing industry, from expert support for early process development through to construction of a KUBio modular facility for full scale manufacturing. Our local customers will now be able to upskill their workforce, access innovative bioprocess technologies, and support their process development and manufacturing while establishing their own capabilities in-house.”