‘BIOTECHNOLOGICAL’ COOPERATION BETWEEN SABANCI UNIVERSITY AND MERCK

SABANCI UNIVERSITY NANOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND APPLICATION CENTER AND GERMAN MEDICINE AND CHEMISTRY COMPANY MERCK, ACTUALIZED A SIGNIFICANT R&D AND APPLICATION UNIT IN TURKEY IN THE FIELD OF BIOTECHNOLOGIC PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT.

The opening ceremony of the SUNUM & MERCK Life Sciences Implementation Unit, which was established 351 years ago as the oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company in the world and which was put into practice by Merck, one of the leading science and technology companies, was held at Sabancı University.

Prof. Dr. Yusuf Leblebici, the Chancellor of Sabanci University; Şehram Zayer, Chairman of Board of Directors and General Director of Merck Turkey; Alpagut Kara, the Chairman of the Board of Director of SUNUM; Ron Bunschoten, the Process Solutions Europe Region Group President of Merck; and Fazilet Vardar Sukan, the Director of SUNUM, lecturers of Sabanci University, senior managers of Merck; important institutions and organizations of public and industry and many other from the sector participated in the ceremony.

In his speech at the ceremony, Sabancı University Rector Leblebici stated that the presence of centers in Sabancı University, the studies carried out and the collaborations with faculties are always among the priority issues for them.

Leblebici said “Aiming to make a sustainable contribution to the development of knowledge and technology, our university strengthens its strength with local and international collaborations with the industry within the framework of the mission of ‘Creating and Developing Together’. That we ranked the first in Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure categories in the Times Higher Education Universities Impact Rankings for 2019 that was published in the recent months is an indication of the importance we attach in industry collaborations”.

“SABANCI UNIVERSITY WILL KEEP BEING A CENTER OF EXCELLENCE AND ATTRACTION”

Expressing that they are happy to continue these collaborations internationally, Leblebici said

“The trust of Merck, one of the most established companies in the world, on the infrastructure and manpower of Sabanci University makes us proud. By combining our engineering R&D strength with Merck, we add another collaboration to our scientific collaborations in health and medicine”.

Leblebici who stated that SUNUM & MERCK Life Sciences Application Unit could be a unit where medicine and active ingredient manufacturers headquartered in Turkey can carry out training and development studies, and which can coordinate the activities to create the advanced and academy-based workforce that are required, said that they believe that this unit will be the source of leading ideas and inventions in the field of health and medicine.

Pointing out that another important outcome of this cooperation will be the scholarship opportunities to doctorate students to be determined from the Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering Program, Leblebici said “Sabancı University will continue to be a center of excellence and attraction with its interdisciplinary approach, carried out by our faculty members and researchers.”

“WE PREDICT THAT THE CENTERS PRODUCING BIOTECHNOLOGICAL DRUGS WILL INCREASE”

Chairman of Board of Directors and General Director of Merck, Şehram Zayer, reminded that the products of Merck which celebrated its 21st anniversary in Turkey in 2019 are known in Turkey since the beginning of 1900s.

Pointing out that they focus on creating projects that add value to the country, Zayer said “We are proud to open this center, which will contribute to biotechnological drug research and development, in cooperation with Sabancı University, one of the prestigious and leading universities of our country, and SU Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM). Turkey’s visions for 2023 clearly aims to focus on research and development in the field of health and to create an ecosystem that creates value with the contributions of domestic and foreign investment. We, as Merck Turkey, are very happy to contribute to achieve this goal”.

Touching on the importance of the need for trained academicians to carry out these studies, Zayer said “This project will contribute to our country in many areas. In this center, researchers will be able to work on biotechnological product process development, production and purification. The biotechnological product research centers in our country will be supported thanks to the information transfer to be provided by Merck to obtain a GMP (good manufacturing practices). As a result, we anticipate that the number of the centers producing biotechnological drugs in Turkey will increase. One of the most important contributions of

the project is to contribute to the training of young scientists who will take part in research and development studies, together with the valuable academicians who are already working in this field”.

Zayer also stated that biotechnological drugs can provide treatment with less side effects in a much shorter time compared to conventional drugs. Pointing out to Turkey’s potential to produce biotechnological drugs and stating that drug manufacturing is a challenging process requiring patience, Zayer said “Turkey started to make investments and exerting efforts in this field and now is taking progress. We will be able to see the results of these steps in the coming years”.

“IT WILL MAKE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO ADVANCED AND ACADEMIC BASED WORKFORCE”

Alpagut Kara, the Chairman of Board of Directors of SUNUM, stated that SUNUM is one of the 4 centers for which a competence decision was taken in Turkey within the scope of the Law on Supporting Research Infrastructures; and that they primarily focused their know-how on nano-materials, life sciences, food, agriculture, water, environment and energy fields”.

Stating that SUNUM is at the center of research, education and innovation activities, Kara said that they are an exemplary center among thematic research centers operating in higher education institutions with their national and international qualified research staff and the bridge between university and industry.

Emphasizing that such steps will significantly contribute to Turkey’s advanced and academy-based workforce, Kara said “We signed the agreement by feeling the support we received from Merck, one of the leading suppliers of the Global Health Services and Life Sciences sector, and the deep-rooted strength and close collaboration of the host organization, the Sabanci University. In the SUNUM & MERCK Life Sciences Application Unit, not only the biological drug and active ingredient research and development activities will be carried out in Turkey, but also the training activities will be carried out and the doctorate students will be provided with scholarship. Also, thanks to this unit, the attention of the sector will focus on SUNUM and a significant contribution will be made to the advanced and academy-based workforce that our country needs.

Kara said that the collaboration represents a very important university-industry collaboration and such kind of collaborations with foreign partners in Turkey is still significant in terms of showing that there is a center of attraction.

A MODERN LABORATORY INFRASTRUCTURE WAS ESTABLISHED FOR BIOTECHNOLOGICAL PRODUCT PROCESS DEVELOPMENT

Turkey, with the collaboration in question, acquired a modern laboratory infrastructure in terms of biotechnological product process development. By this means, the research and development of biotechnological products in Turkey are supported and setting up an academy-based workforce is aimed. Biotechnological products are produced thanks to “recombinant DNA technology”, which enables the transfer of a gene belonging to a living cell to another living cell.

This technology enables the natural proteins and hormones produced by the body to be produced by cell cultures in the laboratory. The molecules compatible with the human body produced in this way are called biotechnological products.

According to the information provided, a value amounting to 23,3 billion dollars is aimed using the innovative and advanced technology in the health field within the scope of Turkey’s vision for 2023. Increasing research and development investments, creating trained human resources and increasing the number of biotechnological production centers are included in the road map.

The vision of “Turkey become a country having significant centers, manufacturing facilities and trained academicians in the field of drug and active ingredient research and development” is supported with the information transfer that is provided by Merck to Turkey thanks to the project.

Within the scope of collaboration; A joint study group will be created by the two institutions and the scholarships will be provided to doctoral students to be chosen from the Sabancı University Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering Program.