The foundations of the Kurtsan Group of Companies were laid exactly 50 years ago at Güneş Pharmacy, opened in Istanbul by a young pharmacist.
In the 1950s, when concepts like 'natural living' and 'alternative medicine' were not yet widespread, pharmacist Niyazi Kurtsan was a successful entrepreneur who had made it his mission to develop medicines and health products from plants. He was also a creative and prolific scientist.
Niyazi Kurtsan's turn to herbal products stemmed from his belief in the healing power of nature and his desire to share this power with others. As a young child, he had fallen from a horse and suffered a dangerous wound to his forehead; his grandfather had treated him with the roots of a plant that grew in the mountains and was known as snake's knife, allowing him to recover.
'Otacı', one of the most popular brands of the Kurtsan Group of Companies, means 'physician, pharmacist' in pure Turkish. In the past, Otacı people were not only pharmacists, physicians, but also wise people. However, this word now lives on only through our products. The first product of the "Otacı" brand was herbal pastilles, which were launched exactly 25 years ago.
The pastilles were followed by Türkiye's first herbal shampoo. Subsequently, "Otacı" became Türkiye's first original brand in its field by combining traditional treatment methods with modern technology.
When Türkiye adopted the European Patent Law in 1995, Kurtsan Pharmaceuticals made its first application with Otacı herbal lozenges.
As a result of research conducted at the Vienna Patent Institute, herbal lozenges were recognized as an innovation, and Otacı was granted Türkiye's first patents in the field of domestic pharmaceuticals. Subsequently, Otacı Light and its diabetic brand products, which pioneered the diet products market, received process patents.
