Experience in Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Trials in Turkey

Turkey straddles the continents of Europe and Asia, and this unique geographical location steers its economy. On the world economic scale, as an exceptional emerging economy, Turkey is the 16th largest economy in the world and the sixth largest economy as compared with the European Union countries, according to gross domestic product. The Turkish pharmaceutical sector is ranked 16th in terms of market value, and it is 36th in terms of the clinical research conducted and the volume of pharmaceutical exports. Investments by foreign companies have increased since 1984 and 19 foreign capital firms have entered the Turkish pharmaceuticals market since 1990. Today, there are approximately 300 entities operating in Turkey. Turkey has a long tradition of providing clinical trial legislation, regulation and guidelines; the country has taken major steps towards harmonizing its legislation with those of the European Union in the field of clinical research. Currently Turkish regulations are completely in line with EC Directives. Clinical trials performed in the field of Alzheimer’s disease in Turkey since 1997, including their rationale, design, summary, and outcomes, are discussed in this chapter.