April 15, 2008, Istanbul –Secretary General of the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (AİFD) Engin Güner, who made some exploratory visits in Boston where a large number of research-based pharmaceutical companies base their research centers, reiterated the views that were expressed at the third conference of the Turkish Scientists and Scholars Association (TASSA) held at Harvard Medical School, “If steps continue to be taken to improve the investment and R&D environment, the brain-drain from Turkey to developed countries such as the United States can be reversed.”

Güner, who met with authorities from official institutions that supply incentives for pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and representatives of pharmaceutical companies in the Boston region from April 11 until April 13, said the following:

“In order to conduct research and development activities in a country, it is necessary to improve the investment environment in the general sense of the word. One of the most vital conditions for this is the protection of intellectual property rights at international standards. Furthermore, it is important to revise legislation pertinent to R&D studies and eliminate bureaucratic procedures that unnecessarily slow down the process. Long-term transparent policies to be set by our government, which would provide incentives for research and development work and would be implemented on a principle of openness, would also play a significant role in improving the environment. The meetings we had in Boston as well as the presentations at the Conference clearly indicate that the scientific environment and research and development studies can only be bolstered through this means.”