Team size: Three

First, can you please give us an idea of the sort of work your team has done recently (cases, transactions, projects)?

Sandoz Türkiye’s legal team has initiated a lawsuit concerning an administrative decision of the Ministry of Healt the Social Security Institution, which resulted in its favour. Additionally, it has been heavily focused on BD&L agreements. Given the large size of the company and strict regulations on the pharmaceutical sector, the in-house team has a pivotal role in quickly adapting to changes in requirements and overcoming legal challenges.

Which recent political, economic, or regulatory changes have impacted the company and the team the most?

The last two years we have been harmonising data privacy law and its secondary legislation, across the company. In order to do so, we have prepared consent letters for healthcare professionals, updated all vendor contracts on data privacy law. Additionally, we have provided Turkish data privacy law training for all our associates.

What do you think are the biggest risks facing your industry now and how are you preparing your company and team to face these risks?

The significant devaluation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar and inflation are one of the biggest challenges facing our industry today. We have created a team and updated all our corporate contracts in order to address those issues; we have eliminated foreign currency and we keep on pro-actively monitor further developments. Additionally, the localisation effort of the Turkish Ministry of health for pharmaceutical products to be manufactured in Türkiye, has greatly aided our company.