Atabay was founded in Istanbul by Mr. Ö. Kemalettin Atabay, Pharmacist, in 1939, prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The company had emerged as a trading business, importing and marketing pharmaceutical products. In the 1940’s, this medium sized commercial operation developed into the production of sulfonamide tablets, which were in great demand at the time, thus paving the way to the pharmaceutical industry in Turkey.