The European Union's antitrust body said it accepted Sanofi's concessions to settle a competition investigation into the French drugmaker's marketing campaign for a flu vaccine.
The European Commission--the bloc's executive arm and competition enforcer--said Wednesday that its concerns would be addressed by Sanofi's offer to rectify the potential effects of its past messages on a rival flu shot made by Australia's CSL. Those commitments will become legally binding for Sanofi, it added.
Sanofi said the it cooperated with the commission throughout the investigation, which ended without finding any infringement. The company's commitments ensure clarity in how it references regulatory recommendations and competitor products in France and Germany over the next four flu seasons, Sanofi said.
The commission launched a probe in June to assess whether Sanofi's efforts to promote its Efluelda flu vaccine in France and Germany breached competition rules, citing concerns they could amount to disparagement campaigns against CSL's Fluad.
In August, the European Commission said it would seek feedback on commitments offered by the company to address its concerns.
As part of its concessions, Sanofi offered to proactively remedy the potential effects of its past messages on Fluad by posting a clarification statement on its German and French websites for two years and sending it to German healthcare professionals it previously targeted, the commission said. The company also committed to refrain from any communication casting doubt about Fluad's performance until 2030, it added.
In response, CSL's vaccine business CSL Seqirus said the European Commission's decision supports fair competition in the market and highlights the importance of accurate vaccine communications that reflect independent scientific assessments and national vaccine recommendations.
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