European Commission opens antitrust probe into Sanofi flu vaccine promotion

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EU opens Sanofi flu probe

Highlights

European Commission formally investigates whether Sanofi abused its dominant position by disparaging CSL Seqirus's Fluad in favor of its own Efluelda flu vaccine.
Commission alleges Sanofi's campaign in Germany and France included potentially misleading claims that conflicted with national vaccination recommendations, primarily targeting healthcare professionals.
If confirmed, Sanofi's conduct may violate Article 102 TFEU, with proceedings shifting authority to the Commission and allowing Sanofi to propose commitments to address concerns.

Commission concerns over vaccine messaging

As reported by the European Commission, the formal investigation assesses whether Sanofi abused a dominant position by running a communication campaign that disparaged CSL Seqirus's Fluad vaccine in favor of its own Efluelda product.

Sanofi, based in France, markets Efluelda in the EU as an enhanced influenza vaccine designed to provide greater protection for people over 60. The Commission says Efluelda competes with Fluad, another enhanced flu vaccine, and is concerned that Sanofi portrayed the rival shot as inferior in a way that conflicted with national vaccination recommendations in several member states.

The alleged messaging highlighted by the Commission includes claims that the evidence supporting Fluad is weaker than that for Efluelda, representations of national recommendations that may be misleading or inaccurate, and statements in Germany suggesting the recommendation for Fluad still faces unresolved scientific objections from medical professional societies. The campaign primarily targeted healthcare professionals in Germany and France, where the Commission preliminarily considers Sanofi to hold a dominant position.

Possible legal and market impact

If the concerns are confirmed, the conduct could amount to an abuse of dominance under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The Commission says the opening of formal proceedings does not prejudge the outcome of the case.

Alongside the investigation, the Commission has adopted a Preliminary Assessment setting out the main facts and its competition concerns, and Sanofi can now offer commitments to address them. The regulator also notes it carried out unannounced inspections at Sanofi premises in September 2025.

Under EU rules, the launch of proceedings shifts competence for the practices concerned away from national competition authorities, while national courts must avoid decisions that could conflict with the Commission's case. The Commission says there is no legal deadline for completing an antitrust investigation, and its duration depends on factors including complexity, cooperation by the companies involved, and the exercise of defense rights.

Our earlier report on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s 2025 fraud figures highlighted a sharp rise in reported consumer losses, led by imposter scams that accounted for the largest share of cases. We noted growing concern over high-dollar losses among people aged 60+ and warned that increasingly sophisticated, AI-enabled tactics are making deceptive messaging harder to detect.

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