This is not the first deal that Amgen has made lately [1], but it does mark a move away from its traditional biologicals business into generics and emerging markets. The deal will significantly expand Amgen’s presence in Turkey and the surrounding region, which are large, fast-growing, priority markets for Amgen.

The move comes at a time when the Turkish government, like many others, is attempting to save money on healthcare costs by increasing generics use in the country. In 2011, generics accounted for 52.4% by volume and 38.4% by value in Turkey, with 79% of new drugs entering the market in 2011 being generics.

MN, which is privately owned, is a major supplier of injectables and generics to hospitals and had sales of US$200 million in 2011, with ‘double-digit’ growth rates over the past five years.

Mr Robert A Bradway, President and Chief Operating Officer at Amgen said, ‘Amgen is dedicated to making our innovative medicines available to patients in major markets around the world’, adding that ‘together with MN’s staff and management team, we plan to grow our business with high quality and innovative medicines in Turkey and the surrounding region’.

MN was in talks to form a partnership with Eli Lilly back in September 2011 [2], but nothing came of it. According to Reuters, Amgen had to compete with several other Big Pharma companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, in order to snap up the generics maker.

With the pharmaceutical markets in emerging regions growing at a much faster rate than in the rest of Europe, it is expected that others may also be looking to expand into Turkey.

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References

1.  GaBI Online - Generics and Biosimilars Initiative. Amgen finally jumps on biosimilars bandwagon [www.gabionline.net]. Mol, Belgium: Pro Pharma Communications International; [cited 2012 Apr 26]. Available from: www.gabionline.net/Biosimilars/News/Amgen-finally-jumps-on-biosimilars-bandwagon

2.  GaBI Online - Generics and Biosimilars Initiative. Eli Lilly in deal with Turkish generics company [www.gabionline.net]. Mol, Belgium: Pro Pharma Communications International; [cited 2012 Apr 26]. Available from: www.gabionline.net/Pharma-News/Eli-Lilly-in-deal-with-Turkish-generics-company