Sanofi evades EU fine for allegedly disparaging CSL’s flu vaccine
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Sanofi (SNY) has avoided a massive fine in the EU over claims it disparaged a rival flu vaccine developed by CSL Limited (CSLLY) after the European Commission on Wednesday accepted a series of commitments that the French drugmaker proposed to address the allegations.
The commitments were made in response to an EU antitrust investigation launched in June to determine whether Sanofi (SNY) disparaged CSL’s (CSLLY) enhanced flu shot ‘Fluad' as part of a marketing campaign for its rival shot 'Efluelda.'
As part of the alleged disparagement campaigns that took place in Germany and France in 2024 and 2025, the company claimed, among other things, that Fluad is weaker than Efluelda, though both shots are recommended to protect the elderly from the influenza virus.
In July, Sanofi (SNY) offered a series of commitments to avoid the probe and a fine that could make up 10% of its annual worldwide turnover. They included a pledge to publish a statement on its German and French websites claiming that both Fluad and Efluelda are treated equivalently according to the relevant national vaccination recommendations.
On Wednesday, the European Commission said that the commitments, some of which will be in effect until March 2030, address its antitrust concerns and therefore become legally binding in the region.
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