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ARTICLE · 26 FEBRUARY 2021

Market Intelligence Thought Leadership Award Winner

Will The Treatment Of Selective Distribution Systems Ever Be The Same Again? The Turkish Competition Board's Johnson&Johnson Decision

ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law
ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law
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ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law

ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law

ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law is an eminent, independent Turkish law firm based in Istanbul. The...

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Johnson&Johnson Sıhhi Malzeme Sanayi ve Ticaret Ltd. Şti. applied in June 2019 to the Turkish Competition Authority and asked the Competition Board to assess whether Johnson&Johnson's contemplated Warehouse Sale Agreement for Human Medicine ...

TurkeyAntitrust/Competition Law
Gönenç Gürkaynak
Gönenç Gürkaynak
Baris Yuksel
Baris Yuksel
Can Yildirim
Can Yildirim
Aysu Tanoğlu
Aysu Tanoğlu
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Introduction

Johnson&Johnson Sıhhi Malzeme Sanayi ve Ticaret Ltd. Şti. ("Johnson&Johnson") applied in June 2019 to the Turkish Competition Authority ("TCA") and asked the Competition Board ("Board") to assess whether Johnson&Johnson's contemplated Warehouse Sale Agreement for Human Medicine ("Agreement") falls within the protective cloak of the Block Exemption Communiqué No. 2002/2 on Vertical Agreements ("Communiqué No.  2002/2") or, if not, satisfies the conditions for an individual exemption as per Article 5 of the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of the Competition ("Law No. 4054").

The Agreement sought to establish a quantitative1 selective distribution system whereby nine pharmaceutical warehouses that satisfy certain criteria determined by Johnson&Johnson would be appointed as the authorized distributors of four pharmaceuticals (Imbruvica, Zytiga, Stelara and Darzalex) to pharmacies ("Proposed Distribution System"). Johnson&Johnson would not be under

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