Invest News DetailHurriyet - Czech generic drugs company Zentiva has announced its plans to shift the majority of its production to its plant in Türkiye in a bid to make the country an export base for over 34 countries. A subsidiary of French pharma giant Sanofi, Zentiva acquired the generics business of Turkish drug manufacturer Eczacibasi in 2007. Following its entry, the generics unit of Sanofi has turned the Luleburgaz, Kirklareli plant in western Türkiye into one of the biggest research and development (R&D) labs of the group. “Zentiva’s Turkish plant will be a supply base for generic drugs after their production moves to Türkiye,” according to Zentiva’s President Jérôme Silvestre. Speaking to the press at the company’s headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic, Zentiva head said that Luleburgaz plant was issued with quality compliance awards from 13 countries including the US, Germany, Australia and Denmark, effectively becoming a production hub for the growing global generics markets. Generics constitute more than 40 percent of the global pharma market with a volume of USD 100 billion. Generic drugs sector, with much lower development and production costs, continue to thrive especially in emerging countries. Around 80 percent of drug sales in Türkiye consist of generics, making up of about 50 percent of the sectoral turnover. The country has witnessed sizeable takeovers and partnerships in pharma sector in recent years, the latest being the acquisition of local generics manufacturer Mustafa Nevzat by US biotech giant Amgen for USD 700 million.