Jiangsu Hengrui subsidiary Reistone and Shanghai Laekna raise a combined $161m for their innovative candidates.

Dermatologists have compared the current market for vitiligo to that of psoriasis 30 years ago, which grew from one with a dearth of therapies to one worth about $8bn.

US FDA meeting directs attention to the vitiligo patient experience as a small group of potential treatments, led by topical Janus kinase inhibitors, are at the Phase II hinge point.

The Turkish pharmaceutical market reached $5.6bn in 2017. Despite strong competition from multinationals, Abdi Ibrahim, a local company, was market leader last year with a turnover of $380m. It was followed by Novartis and Pfizer.