Türkiye's antitrust authority on Friday said it had imposed a fine of TL 245 million ($5.84 million) on 17 companies, mostly from the pharmaceutical sector, after finding that they violated competition law through "no-poach agreements" and exchange of sensitive information.
In a statement, the Competition Authority (RK) said its investigation concluded that the companies had made "employee non-solicitation agreements" and shared competition-sensitive data, actions that were found to restrict competition in the labor market.
Among those receiving the highest penalties were Sanovel Ilaç with TL 79 million, Pfizer PFE with TL 20 million, Novartis Sağlık and Novo Nordisk Sağlık with TL 19 million each, Santa Farma Ilaç with TL 17 million, AstraZeneca Ilaç with TL 15 million, and Sanofi Ilaç with TL 12 million.
The board noted that certain undertakings had agreed not to hire each other's employees, thereby distorting competition in the labor market and violating the country's competition legislation.
