The European Commission has launched a formal antitrust investigation into French pharmaceutical company Sanofi to determine whether the company abused its dominant position in parts of the European flu vaccine market through a communications campaign targeting a competing product.
According to the Financial Times, in an article by Patricia Nilsson, EU competition authorities are examining whether Sanofi disseminated misleading information that unfairly discredited a rival influenza vaccine marketed by CSL Seqirus. The investigation centers on Sanofi’s promotion of its Efluelda vaccine and whether its messaging violated European Union competition rules governing dominant companies.
In a statement announcing the investigation, the European Commission said it is concerned that Sanofi carried out a communications campaign that portrayed CSL Seqirus’s Fluad vaccine as inferior to Efluelda while allegedly misrepresenting scientific evidence and national vaccination guidance. The Commission said the campaign primarily targeted healthcare professionals in France and Germany, where it considers Sanofi to hold a dominant position in the relevant market.
The Commission’s preliminary concerns include claims suggesting that Fluad was supported by weaker clinical evidence than Efluelda despite assessments by public health authorities, as well as communications that allegedly mischaracterized national vaccination recommendations in Germany and France. Regulators are also examining statements suggesting that Germany’s recommendation for Fluad remained subject to unresolved scientific objections.
If confirmed, the conduct could constitute an abuse of dominance under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which prohibits companies with significant market power from engaging in practices that distort competition or restrict consumer choice.
According to the Financial Times, the investigation follows unannounced inspections conducted at Sanofi’s premises in September 2025, a step competition authorities often use to gather evidence before deciding whether to open formal proceedings.
Sanofi said it believes it has complied with all applicable laws and regulations, including competition law, and is cooperating fully with the European Commission’s investigation. The company also said it remains committed to fair competition and maintaining access to innovative vaccines for patients.
The case highlights growing regulatory scrutiny of competitive conduct in the pharmaceutical sector, where competition authorities have increasingly examined not only pricing and patent practices but also marketing strategies used by companies with substantial market shares. European regulators have previously investigated pharmaceutical firms over practices including patent settlements, exclusionary agreements, and communications that could discourage the use of competing products.
Competition authorities generally distinguish between legitimate commercial promotion and conduct that may unlawfully impede competition. Under EU law, companies holding dominant market positions have a heightened responsibility not to engage in practices that could mislead customers or foreclose rivals through inaccurate or deceptive representations.
Reuters reported that the Commission’s investigation specifically focuses on whether Sanofi’s communications campaign amounted to anticompetitive disparagement of a competing vaccine rather than ordinary commercial advertising. The news agency also reported that the Commission considers Sanofi to hold a dominant position in the relevant influenza vaccine markets in both France and Germany.
The investigation comes as Sanofi continues to navigate broader business challenges. According to the Financial Times, the company is seeking to strengthen its pharmaceutical pipeline following several clinical setbacks in recent years while preparing for the eventual loss of patent protection on its blockbuster asthma treatment, Dupixent, in the early 2030s.
The European Commission emphasized that opening formal proceedings does not prejudge the outcome of the case. Alongside the investigation, regulators have issued a Preliminary Assessment outlining their competition concerns, allowing Sanofi the opportunity to respond or propose commitments intended to address those concerns.
Source: The Financial Times
