Our founder tells the story of Umayana: from laboratory research to a patented invention and the first hospital use.
How did the idea to start your startup come about? When and how did you establish your company? Why did you turn to this field, what was your motivation about it? Can you briefly share your establishment story?
As a biochemistry specialist, I have 28 years of experience in R&D and pharmaceutical industry. I still continue my research in the Technopark Istanbul Biocube laboratory. In addition to my research experiences, my work in the pharmaceutical industry helped me gain experience in matters such as the regulations I would follow for the use of the formulas I developed in the laboratory, the financial analysis of the products, and their positioning in the market.
Very painful mouth and skin sores occur in patients due to cancer treatment. This situation, which I have observed in the market as a need for wound prevention or healing, also brings additional costs in treatment. Currently, there is no product that prevents or heals these wounds at the global level. By proving that we have found a solution to this problem in our clinical studies, we made a study presentation at international congresses.
As might be expected, drug development requires rigorous scientific studies and regulatory compliance processes. We did not establish a company at the beginning because I was doing pharmaceutical R&D work, but after completing the studies on the formulas I developed and seeing the market need, we established our company.
Each of us is successful in her field: I do the research, Gülbin Müftüoğlu does the market studies, and together with Prof. Dr. Füsun Tokatlı, we founded the company as three women entrepreneurs at the beginning of this year.
We have patented the extract and related formulas that I obtained with an innovative method from the molecules of a resin accepted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in wound treatment.
Two products that I have already developed with this extract are ready for the use of patients and for commercialization by trademark registration.
In addition to the scientific effectiveness of the products, market plan and cost analyzes were also carried out. Our supplier network has been prepared in order to produce under good production conditions in accordance with the legislation.
The market size of mouth sores in the world is reported to be 2-3 billion dollars. The radiodermatitis market is expressed as 1 billion dollars.
I started my work on the invention in 2013 after seeing that patients who received chemotherapy and radiotherapy were very helpless. First of all, R&D and formulation laboratory studies, then formula tests, ethics committee-approved and double-blind comparative clinical study on its preventive – curative efficacy and congress presentations were carried out by us, three women, with our own resources and knowledge.
Patient comments at every stage increased our belief in the project. I left my university in 2021 and continued on my way to concentrate entirely on this project. Thanks to the Teknopark Istanbul management, I met the Medical Park Hospitals Group. When the effectiveness of the products was seen in the oncology departments, we decided to produce in April.
We cannot talk about a turnover yet, but we prefer to walk firmly with small steps. Our products began to be requested by the Medical Park, Medicana and Liv Hospital Radiation Oncology Departments.
We are preparing to export to Belgium for use in Leuven and Antwerp hospitals.
The pharmaceutical industry is an area that is both very beneficial and challenging. Everything from raw materials to production must comply with the legislation. In addition, it is imperative that you produce your patented formula professionally. The process of reaching the patient after production also needs to be considered in detail. That’s why we plan every step step by step.
Of course, these are not insurmountable issues. It takes a lot of work, but we progressed by doing what needed to be done. Even though financial difficulties required us to make sacrifices, we never gave up.
Our patented molecules can be used in many fields from cosmetics to medicine. Our goal is to enter the world markets by producing primarily in our country. All kinds of infrastructures of our two existing products are ready. Our goal is to advance by setting up the system correctly and planning production as well as distribution.