Sanofi has avoided a European Union fine after antitrust regulators accepted its commitments to address the alleged disparagement of CSL Seqirus’ rival flu vaccine.
The European Commission opened an antitrust investigation in June to assess whether Sanofi’s alleged disparagement campaign against CSL’s Fluad violated EU competition rules. Sanofi proposed pledges to resolve the case, leading the Commission to assess the impact of the company’s commitments in July and August.
The Commission accepted Sanofi’s commitments Wednesday, sparing the company from antitrust fines it can impose for disparaging rivals. Teresa Ribera, the EU’s executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition, explained the decision at a press conference.
Sanofi immediately approached the Commission “in a cooperative mood,” Ribera said. The company’s engagement enabled the Commission to quickly identify the remedies to ensure “a prompt reaction and a prompt enforcement of the law,” she said, adding that the resolution was “good, sufficient and immediate,” the official added.
Ribera pushed back on a reporter’s suggestion that sparing Sanofi from a fine would encourage other companies to disparage their rivals. The speed with which Sanofi reacted to the investigation showed that “they are absolutely convinced of our capacity to be tough on this,” she said. Ribera expects Sanofi to comply with the commitments, but her team “will remain vigilant on what they are doing.”
Legally binding commitments prohibit Sanofi from making certain statements in promotional materials aimed at healthcare professionals in Germany and France. Until March 2030, Sanofi cannot criticize, cast doubt upon or contradict national vaccination recommendations or highlight Fluad negatively, or unduly suggest that its own vaccine, Efluelda, is safer or more effective.
For two years, Sanofi’s German and French websites must acknowledge that the applicable national vaccination recommendations treat Fluad and Efluelda as equivalent in protecting elderly people against the flu, both having a robust evidence base. Sanofi must send the statement to healthcare professionals and key opinion leaders in Germany who previously received the allegedly disparaging materials.