Sanofi is reportedly putting its consumer healthcare media buying account into play following the completion of a trade for Boehringer Ingelheim's consumer assets. The asset swap deal, sealed in January, exchanged Sanofi's animal health unit Merial with BI's consumer health portfolio.
The consumer media review, reported first by Campaign, puts Sanofi’s estimated €900 million media buying and planning account on the market. The account is currently held by Publicis Media's Zenith and former BI agency WPP Group M, although Sanofi is reportedly open to solutions and may not force a consolidation, according to Campaign.
The beefed up Sanofi OTC division is part of new CEO Olivier Brandicourt’s plan to remake the drugmaker into a leader in consumer healthcare as its diabetes business declines. Sanofi OTC brands include Allegra, Nasacort and Maalox, while the newly added BI brands count Ducolax and global antispasmodic Buscopan among them.
When the deal was announced, industry watchers estimated that BI’s assets would give Sanofi a 4.6% share of the global consumer health market, ranking sixth in the U.S. But the French company still has some formidable foes to deal with in the OTC department, including the market-leading GlaxoSmithKline-Novartis joint venture.
Sanofi did not respond to a request for comment on the review.