The European Commission has accepted the remedial commitments submitted by Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY), thereby closing the antitrust investigation into the marketing practices for its Efluelda influenza vaccine.
The EU antitrust authority stated that it has adopted the corrective measures proposed by the French pharmaceutical company to conclude the case, ending the competition investigation into the promotional activities for one of its flu vaccines.
The European Commission serves as the executive body of the European Union and is also the enforcement authority for competition rules.
The Commission said on Wednesday that the proposal put forward by Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY) addresses the potential negative impact of its past promotional statements on the competing influenza vaccine from Australia's CSL, and that this plan can eliminate regulatory concerns.
The Commission added that the aforementioned commitments will be legally binding on Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY).
Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY) stated that it cooperated with the European Commission throughout the investigation, and that this case closure does not find the company to have engaged in any illegal conduct.
Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY) said that through these commitments, over the next four flu seasons, its statements in the French and German markets when citing regulatory recommendations and referring to competing products will be more standardized and clear.
The European Commission formally opened the case in June of this year to examine whether Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY) violated competition regulations in promoting its own Efluelda influenza vaccine in France and Germany.
Regulators were concerned that Sanofi SA's (NASDAQ: SNY) promotional statements constituted disparagement of CSL's Fluad influenza vaccine.
In August, the European Commission sought public feedback to assess the remedial commitments submitted by Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY) to address regulatory concerns.
According to the remedial commitments: Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY) is required to publish clarification statements on its French and German websites for a duration of two years; it must also send this statement to German healthcare professionals it had previously targeted, in order to proactively eliminate the potential negative impact of past promotional statements on the Fluad vaccine.
Additionally, Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY) committed that until 2030, it will not make any public statements questioning the performance of the Fluad vaccine.
In response, CSL's vaccine business unit CSL Seqirus said that the European Commission's decision upholds fair market competition and highlights that vaccine-related promotion must remain faithful to independent scientific assessments and national vaccination recommendations, ensuring accurate information.
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