Turkey launches investigation into 19 pharma companies

Asked about the matter, AstraZeneca said it does not comment on ongoing investigations as a matter of policy. Glaxosmithkline, Sanofi and Germany's Merck KGaA all said they were fully cooperating with competition authorities in Turkey, but did not elaborate further.

Turkey's competition authority said on Thursday it had launched an investigation into 19 pharmaceutical companies to determine whether they had violated competition law.

In a statement, the authority said it had decided on Nov. 9 to launch the probe into companies including AstraZeneca , Bayer, Glaxosmithkline, Johnson & Johnson, Bausch & Lomb, Sanofi and Pfizer. It provided no further details. Asked about the matter, AstraZeneca said it does not comment on ongoing investigations as a matter of policy.

Glaxosmithkline, Sanofi and Germany's Merck KGaA all said they were fully cooperating with competition authorities in Turkey, but did not elaborate further. In a statement, BASF said it was assessing the matter and was committed to high standards of legal compliance and business ethics.

AbbVie, Abdi Ibrahim, Bausch & Lomb, Bayer, Ilko, Johnson & Johnson, Liba, Menarini, Michael Page International, Panasonic, Pfizer, SIFI, and World Medicine could not immediately be reached for comment.