Sanofi escapes EU fine after agreeing to drop campaign against rival flu vaccine

The European Commission has accepted legally binding commitments from Sanofi, ending an antitrust investigation into claims that the drugmaker used misleading messages to undermine Fluad, a competing flu vaccine. The decision, made on 15 October 2026, meant Sanofi avoided a potential penalty of up to 10% of its annual worldwide turnover.

The Commission opened its investigation in July after concerns that Sanofi may have run a campaign to disparage an enhanced flu vaccine. Such vaccines are modified to improve effectiveness for certain groups, including elderly people and those whose preconditions weaken their immune responses.

From 2024 until at least autumn 2025, the Commission said, Sanofi may have directed the campaign at healthcare professionals in Germany and France. It preliminarily found that Sanofi may hold a dominant position in the market for enhanced flu vaccines in both countries.

The company’s own enhanced vaccine is Efluelda. Fluad is made by competitor Seqirus and is the only other enhanced flu vaccine currently marketed in the EU.

According to the Commission, Sanofi’s communications suggested that Fluad had a weaker evidentiary basis than Efluelda. That message conflicted with findings by the European Centre for Disease Control and national immunisation technical advisory groups in Germany and France.

The campaign also allegedly misrepresented national vaccination recommendations. It suggested that recommendations for Fluad in Germany still faced unresolved scientific objections from medical professional societies.

The Commission’s concern was that these actions may have restricted competition in the German and French enhanced flu vaccine markets, potentially breaching Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. The provision prohibits dominant companies from using abusive practices that restrict competition.

Sanofi offered commitments in July to avoid the investigation and a fine. Under the agreement now accepted by the Commission, it will communicate proactively to correct and undo the possible effects of misleading messages concerning Fluad.

Sanofi has also agreed to refrain from communications that portray Fluad negatively or cast doubt on its performance. Until March 2030, it cannot use promotional material aimed at healthcare professionals in Germany and France to criticise, question or contradict national vaccination recommendations.

The company must also publish statements on its German and French websites saying that national vaccination recommendations treat Fluad and Efluelda equivalently.

Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s executive vice-president, said: “we think that there is no room for misleading information or for companies to distort public health recommendations to promote their own products”.