Sanofi avoids EU fine by pledging to stop disparaging rival flu vaccine Fluad

Commission accepts Sanofi's commitments

The European Commission accepted commitments from the French drugmaker Sanofi on Wednesday, 14 October, closing an antitrust investigation without a fine. The case concerns Efluelda, Sanofi's flu vaccine, and Fluad, a rival vaccine made by the Australian company CSL Seqirus. Both products are intended to prevent influenza in people over 60, and the Commission described Fluad as the only high-dose flu vaccine for vulnerable patients that competes with Efluelda. According to the Commission, the commitments are legally binding on Sanofi. EU competition commissioner Teresa Ribera said the decision ensures that patients and health workers can choose their vaccine on the basis of an impartial assessment of scientific evidence.

What the Commission suspected

The Commission suspected Sanofi of abusing a dominant position in the high-dose flu vaccine market in Germany and France. Its concern was a communication campaign aimed at health professionals, which ran from 2024 to autumn 2025. In that campaign, Sanofi allegedly suggested that the scientific evidence behind Fluad was weaker than that behind Efluelda, despite conclusions by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and national immunisation advisory groups. The Commission also said Sanofi presented national vaccination recommendations misleadingly, implying that recommendations on Fluad in Germany remained subject to unresolved scientific objections from medical societies. Sanofi had rejected the allegations, and the Commission had searched the company's premises in Germany and France in September 2025. Under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Commission argued that such conduct could have restricted competition in both national markets.

Binding commitments and penalties

Sanofi committed to proactive communication that would correct potentially misleading messages about Fluad. It also pledged to refrain from any communication that presents Fluad negatively or casts doubt on its efficacy. For 24 months, the group must publish on its German and French websites a statement acknowledging that national recommendations treat Fluad and Efluelda as equivalent for protecting older people against flu, and it must send that statement to health professionals. Sanofi must also revise its advertising materials. If Sanofi breaches the commitments, the Commission could impose a fine of up to 10% of its annual worldwide turnover, or daily periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of its daily worldwide turnover. Sanofi said it had cooperated with the Commission throughout the investigation and had made commitments to clarify and guarantee that its communications about the vaccine comply with the rules.

Timeline of the case

The alleged campaign began in 2024 and, according to the Commission, continued until autumn 2025. The Commission searched Sanofi's premises in Germany and France in September 2025, and it opened its investigation at the end of June 2026. Sanofi's commitments were then accepted on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, which closes the case without a fine. Ribera linked the decision to the start of the autumn flu vaccination campaign, when millions of EU patients and health workers prepare to choose a vaccine.