Currently operating in more than 150 countries with more than 100,000 employees, Pfizer is committed to providing the medical world with innovative products developed to contribute to human health and quality of life. Pfizer cooperates with non-governmental organizations, universities and governments to improve society’s access to effective health solutions and innovative treatments all over the world.
Founded in the USA in 1849, Pfizer achieved its milestones with the mass production of Penicillin, referred to as the miraculous medicine of the world, in 1942, and its international expansion to the world by founding its first businesses in countries such as the UK, Cuba, Mexico and India in 1951. Having served society by presenting, up to the 2000s, many products which are leaders in different therapeutic fields, Pfizer undertook its first merger by acquiring Warner Lambert in 2000, becoming the world’s fastest-growing pharmaceutical company. In 2003, Pfizer incorporated Pharmacia, and assumed the title of the world’s largest pharmaceutical company based on R&D after this merger. Finally, in 2009, Pfizer incorporated Wyeth, the world’s leading pharmaceutical company. With this merger, Pfizer has increased and diversified its product portfolio as well as strengthened its facilities in the areas of biotechnology, vaccines, health products, nutrition and animal health, which has positioned Pfizer as the world’s leading biopharmaceutical company.
As the pharmaceutical company that has made the largest investment in R&D with 79 production centers worldwide, Pfizer increased its R&D resources to approximately USD 11 billion after the merger with Wyeth. Pfizer still carries out 500 projects from discovery stage to licensing stage in eight research centers across the world.
Pfizer started its operations in Turkey in 1957. Having served Turkish medicine and society for over half a century, Pfizer Turkey produces 77 percent of the products marketed to the Turkish medical sector and employs more than 1,400 people in Turkey. Pfizer Turkey exports its production to a total of 22 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including EU countries, the Middle East and Far East, and has become Turkey’s 4th largest exporting pharmaceutical company, with a pharmaceutical export value of USD 28 million in 2008.
As of 2008 Pfizer Turkey has assumed management responsibility of the CauCAR region including eight Caucasus and Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan), and has become the regional base responsible for nine countries in total, including Turkey. Meanwhile, Pfizer Turkey is an important school of leaders, transferring the leader executives trained by Pfizer Turkey to Pfizer companies worldwide. Today more than 30 Turkish senior executives are carrying out their duties successfully in international Pfizer companies.
Currently, a total of 31 international R&D projects are carried out in Turkey by Pfizer. Paving the way for developing pharmaceuticals in Turkey for the purpose of improving the country’s R&D environment, Pfizer has completed many important projects since 2009. The “Key Strategic Center” agreement that initiated the strategic cooperation process for pharmaceutical R&D with Hacettepe University is one of the firsts in this area in our country. Within the scope of this cooperation, the company signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT) in order to deepen the quality and quantity of R&D activities in Turkey and develop an environment that will support innovations in the area of pharmaceuticals, and subsequently opened the Pfizer R&D office in Hacettepe Technopolis. In 2010 various programs for developing pharmaceuticals have been planned and carried out by an executive board of 10 people from Hacettepe University, Pfizer’s Global Pharmaceutical Research and Development Department and Pfizer Turkey authorities.
Regarding the strategic cooperation for pharmaceutical R&D with Hacettepe University, Jeff B. Kindler, CEO of Pfizer, said, "The agreement we signed is of great importance for both bringing in the accomplishments of the Turkish scientists to the global pharmaceutical R&D network and increasing R&D activities and innovations in the area of pharmaceuticals by providing added value to the Turkish economy. In order to find new treatments that patients need and contribute to economic development, we are looking forward to seeing the projects of Turkish scientists.”
Having invested over TRY 4 million in education and health-oriented social responsibility projects over the last decade, Pfizer Turkey continues to meet the needs of Turkish society.
Pfizer Turkey will continue to invest in Turkey and serve Turkish medicine for "A Healthier Life”, as it has done for 53 years.