The Turkish Competition Board has concluded its investigation into the economic entity comprising Avixa İlaç San. ve Tic. AŞ and Avigem İlaç San. ve Tic. Ltd. Şti. (AVIXA) following commitment and settlement procedures. The probe evaluated whether the pharmaceutical entity abused its dominant position under Article 6 of Act No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition by restricting the market supply of a specific nasal spray distributed under a co-marketing agreement.
Investigators found that AVIXA engaged in exclusionary and exploitative practices involving two nasal sprays with identical formulations and active ingredients. The company deliberately kept the market share of one product below 1%, despite that specific version offering a higher reimbursement discount under the Social Security Institution scheme. By withholding this lower-cost option from the market, AVIXA restricted consumer access to affordable medicine, prevented potential competitors from entering the double-action nasal spray market, and generated financial losses for public funds.
Following the settlement procedure, the Board issued its decision on July 23, 2026, imposing an administrative fine of 23,813,011.31 TL ($504,443 USD)on AVIXA for violating competition laws. In addition to the monetary penalty, the Board accepted binding commitments submitted by the company. These commitments require suspending and revoking the license for the under-supplied nasal spray and removing the product entirely from the Social Security Institution’s reimbursement coverage.
