Turkey probes Teva for allegedly gaming patents and disparaging rival drugs

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Turkish antitrust regulators are investigating Teva Pharmaceutical, the world’s largest generic drugmaker, for allegedly manipulating the patent system and making misleading statements to health care authorities about the safety and effectiveness of rival medicines.

The company engaged in “various practices… that may have been aimed at making it more difficult for competitors to enter the market,” according to Turkey’s Competition Board, which is known as Rekabet Kurumu and which launched the probe earlier this month but disclosed the decision last Friday on its website .

The regulator did not mention a specific drug, but a Teva spokeswoman wrote us that the investigation is similar to a probe by the European Commission that, two years ago, ended with the company paying a $503 million fine for delaying competition to its blockbuster Copaxone multiple sclerosis medicine. The case is currently under appeal before the European Court.

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