The European Commission has accepted binding commitments from pharmaceutical manufacturer Sanofi to resolve an antitrust investigation into alleged disparagement of a rival flu vaccine, Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera announced. The settlement comes less than a year after regulators conducted unannounced inspections at Sanofi’s premises in October 2025.
The investigation focused on Sanofi’s marketing practices regarding enhanced influenza vaccines, which are modified to provide better protection for elderly and immunocompromised patients. The Commission raised concerns that Sanofi engaged in a misleading communication campaign targeting healthcare professionals in France and Germany to disparage Fluad, a competing vaccine produced by Seqirus, in order to protect its own product, Efluelda.
According to regulatory findings, Sanofi’s messaging questioned the scientific validity of the evidence supporting Fluad and misrepresented national public health guidance. While French and German health authorities had placed both vaccines on equal footing, Sanofi’s communications suggested that official recommendations favored Efluelda. The Commission warned that such conduct by a company holding a strong market position could constitute an abuse of dominance by distorting medical recommendations and suppressing competition.
To address the Commission’s concerns and close the proceedings, Sanofi offered two primary remedies. First, the company will run a corrective communication campaign to rectify the misleading statements previously distributed to healthcare providers. Second, Sanofi has committed to refrain from engaging in similar disparaging commercial conduct in the future.
Ribera highlighted that the rapid resolution delivers immediate benefits to European healthcare systems while reinforcing legal certainty around pharma marketing practices. The case builds on previous Commission enforcement actions against product disparagement, such as those involving Vifor and Teva Copaxone, underscoring that pharmaceutical companies must compete strictly on the merits of their products rather than undermining rivals.