Türkiye's pharma industry, one of the leading in the region and Europe, has seen a notable increase in R&D spending over the 2020-2024 period, according to a report on Tuesday.

The pharmaceutical industry's R&D expenditures increased 8.3 times between 2020 and 2024, rising from TL 676.2 million (about $14.2 million in current prices) to TL 5.6 billion.

According to a compilation by Anadolu Agency (AA) from a recent review report published by the Turkish Competition Board (RK), the pharmaceutical industry is identified as a field requiring significant investment capital, employing advanced technology and carrying out intensive R&D activities in recent years.

With the advancement of technology, the pharmaceutical industry is developing products not only to treat diseases but also to improve the quality of life.

Companies that develop new products and market reference drugs protected by patents, and therefore place a strong emphasis on R&D activities, are defined as originator pharmaceutical companies.

Accordingly, the increase in R&D investments contributes to the introduction of new medicines and greater product diversity in the short term, while in the long term it creates the conditions for stronger competition among originator and generic drugs.

Global firms' increasing share in market

According to the latest data included in the report, companies ranked among the world's top 50 pharmaceutical companies by sales last year accounted for 88% of the U.S. pharmaceutical market and 49% of the Turkish market.

This indicates that globally operating pharmaceutical companies hold a significant share of the Turkish market, while domestic and other international companies continue to maintain strong positions.

Spending on pharmaceutical development has also been rising steadily, alongside drug sales.

Global pharmaceutical R&D spending increased by 3% in 2025 compared with the previous year, reaching $201.3 billion. The U.S. ranked first in global R&D spending, with $130.1 billion.

Increasing domestic production as key objective

The pharmaceutical sector in Türkiye also stands out for its high value-added production structure, skilled employment capacity and R&D-intensive activities.

Under the 12th Development Plan, the objectives in this area include increasing domestic production capacity, reducing dependence on foreign sources and strengthening the country's capacity to develop innovative medicines.

The total size of Türkiye's pharmaceutical market, which stood at TL 56 billion in 2020, reached TL 479 billion last year.

The country's pharmaceutical R&D expenditures also increased steadily between 2020 and 2024. While the sector spent some TL 676.2 million on research and development activities in 2020, this figure rose by 723% to TL 5.6 billion in 2024.

In other words, the sector's R&D spending increased 8.3-fold over the five-year period.

Domestically manufactured medicines surpass imported drugs

In addition to R&D, production and foreign trade have also drawn attention in the sector.

During the 2020-2025 period, domestically manufactured medicines accounted for a larger share of the overall market than imported medicines, both in terms of sales value and number of packages sold.