An Investigation Has Been Initiated by the Turkish Competition Board Against an Economic Entity Operating in the Pharmaceutical Sector

An announcement (“Announcement”) regarding the initiation of an investigation by the Competition Board (“Board”) against an economic entity operating in the pharmaceutical sector was published on the official website of the Turkish Competition Authority (“Authority”) on 21 August 2026.

The following matters were briefly addressed within the scope of the Announcement:

• The preliminary investigation conducted by the Board to determine whether a pharmaceutical company violated Article 6 of Law on the Protection of Competition (“Law”) by engaging in practices restricting generic competition through the strategic use of divisional patent procedures and creating a misleading image before health authorities regarding the efficacy and safety of competing products has been concluded.
• With the Board’s decision dated 06 August 2026 and numbered 26-28/804-M, an investigation was initiated against an economic entity operating in the pharmaceutical sector to determine whether Article 6 of the Law was violated through the aforementioned conduct.
• Various practices of the relevant economic entity operating in the pharmaceutical sector that may be aimed at making market entry more difficult for competitors constitute the subject matter of the investigation. The economic entity in question operates globally and has patented products developed by itself in fields such as neurology and immunology.
• Within the scope of the investigation, it will be assessed whether the relevant economic entity’s divisional patent applications concerning the manufacturing process and dosage regimen following the expiry of the protection period of the basic molecule patent, as well as the withdrawal practices connected with these patents, are restrictive of generic pharmaceutical competition.

You can access the full text of the Announcement here.

Kind regards,

Zumbul Attorneys-at-Law

info@zumbul.av.tr

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