Turkish firm Abdi İbrahim buys OM Pharma stakes

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s leading pharmaceutical company Abdi İbrahim on Sept. 18 said it has acquired 28.5 percent of the shares of Switzerland-based biotech company OM Pharma for 500 million Swiss francs ($530 million).

Becoming the Swiss company’s second largest shareholder will provide Abdi İbrahim access to world markets in Latin America, China and the United States, said a statement from the Turkish company.

“In the meantime, OM Pharma will have access to countries in the Middle East and North Africa with our partnership,” it said.

Abdi İbrahim has set aside 250 million francs ($265 million) for OM Pharma’s research and development activities for biotehcnological studies, it added.

As part of the deal, some chemical drugs in the portfolio of OM Pharma will be produced in Abdi İbrahim’s plant in Istanbul.

“The vital importance of domestic pharmaceutical industry has been better understood in the hard pandemic period the world and our country has been going through,” said Abdi İbrahim chair Nezih Barut.

“While we have been the Turkey market leader in the last 18 years, we’ve always aimed high. We are the first Turkish company making it to the top 100 pharmaceutical firms in the world,” he added.