Turkish medical firm eyes Middle East market

By Tuba Sahin
ANKARA (AA) - A Turkish medical firm aims to enter the Middle East market thanks to its new production plant.
Alvimedica will produce a triple amount of Turkey's stent usage in a year and export the rest, Leyla Alaton, president of the company told Anadolu Agency.
The company will produce 900,000 of stent per year once the facility operates at full capacity as the new production facility will open next month in Turkey, Alaton said.
The stent is a little metallic cage used for opening blockages in coronary arteries in order to prevent patients from a heart attack.
Stating that the new facility will help the company to expand its markets abroad, Alaton added: "Unfortunately, especially diabetes on the rise in the Middle East and the importance of our product is better understood. Therefore, our way is clear".
The new plant will create jobs for 1,000 people, of which around 70 percent to be women, Alaton said: "Due to nature of the business".
Alaton noted that the size of the stent market in Turkey is around $120 million while it is $8 billion or 10 million units in the world.
Alvimedica's new stent production factory will also help to reduce the country's current account deficit by around $200-300 million, according to the company official.
Touching on the Turkish government's focus on indigenization in medical technologies, Alaton said: "None of the administrations were sensitive in this issue. This is a new awakening for Turkey which always depended on import."
She added that Turkey's investment climate is very beneficial and constructive. "I see 2019 as 'take-off' year," she said.
Alvimedica received the project-based incentive package unveiled by the government.
In April 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the new set of incentives worth 135 billion Turkish liras ($33.16 billion).
Alvimedica is among the 19 companies supported by the incentives for 23 projects in health, defense, metallurgy, electronics, automotive and agriculture sectors.
Established in 2007, the company produces integrated circuit products for endovascular and interventional cardiology.