Turkey is a dynamic and interesting territory to practice law in – there is always something new going on in the market which we strive to acclimatise to, thus keeping our practice at pace.

On October 23 2015, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (the BRSA) published amendments to the Regulation on the Equities of the Banks.

In the wake of the global financial crisis, the Basel Committee released a set of principles applicable to so-called global systemically important banks and domestic systemically important banks.

In line with the global development in the over-the-counter (OTC) market, the Capital Markets Board of Turkey (CMB) has introduced more regulations covering OTC derivatives.

As the level of foreign investment in the Turkish market has plummeted during the last decades, so has the number of agency and distribution relationships with foreign companies.

The competent authority that inspects the compliance of advertisements is the Advertisement Board, which operates under the Turkish Ministry of Customs and Trade.

Media law has been evolving especially since 1990s following the establishment of private broadcasting organisations in Turkey.

Parallel to the harmonisation process of Turkish legislation with European Union law, the legal environment regarding veterinary products is also evolving in Turkey.

In Turkey, while there are some laws that have applicable provisions, the most relevant legislation on promotion is the Promotion of Pharmaceutical Products.

In Turkey, still there is no specific legislation on data protection.

In Turkey, the medical device market has been expanding steadily over the past decade in line with the general growth trend in the healthcare service sector.

As it is the case for all markets throughout the world, counterfeiting is a serious threat for Turkish market as well.

Pharmaceutical companies, who are the marketing authorisations holders of pharmaceutical products, need to receive professional assistance of healthcare professionals as well as key opinion leaders, academicians and other specialists in the process of developing medical content and disseminating such information to other HCPs.