Florence, 18 January 2017: 25% is an impressive growth rate for Ibrahim Etem Menarini, the Turkish company of the Menarini Group, ranking 6^th among the top pharma companies for the number of packages sold in a large and diverse market with a turnover of 410 million Turkish liras (125 million euros) and 800 employees.

In 2016, 100 million packages of Menarini products were sold in the country with a population of around 80 million people; this is like saying that in every household a Menarini product could be found. Menarini came to Turkey in 2001 when it acquired Ibrahim Etem, a historical company established in 1903, later to become Ibrahim Etem Menarini. The manufacturing plant in Istanbul, one of the Menarini Group’s fifteen sites, produces 400 million tablets and 50 million vials annually. Expansion in the near future is a possibility, also in view of the new and larger location where the administrative activities of Ibrahim Etem Menarini will be transferred, inaugurated today under the auspices of the Italian Ambassador in Turkey, Luigi Mattiolo, and other Italian and Turkish authorities. "Operations in administration and also production will therefore increase,” declared the President of the Menarini Group, Lucia Aleotti via video message, the President of Ibrahim Etem Menarini, Sonay Gurgen, and the General Manager, Ugur Bingol during the inauguration ceremonies held today in Istanbul with local institutions.

"Our decision to invest in Turkey today is a tangible sign of how much we believe in the future of this country, the company and our employees here," said Lucia Aleotti, President of the Menarini Group.

"There is only one goal that drives this company: to create added value for Turkey and the health of its citizens. 2016 was a difficult year, but despite this we were able to achieve the growth that we wanted, and even go beyond our expectations,” added Sonay Gurgen, President of Ibrahim Etem Menarini of Ibrahim Etem Menarini, and the General Manager, Ugur Bingol.

During the inauguration the Italian ambassador in Turkey, Luigi Mattiolo, stated, “Italy and Turkey are not competitors, they are complementary. The strengths of this twenty-year agreement are professionalism, high standards of quality and the creation of value. The same are the elements of the Italian entrepreneurship that looked towards Turkey as an ideal partner.”