European Commission Makes Sanofi’s Antitrust Commitments Binding

On October 13, 2026, the European Union’s (EU) European Commission made Sanofi’s commitments not to disparage a competing flu vaccine legally binding.

The Commission found that Sanofi’s enhanced flu vaccine in the EU, Efluelda, competes with the EU’s only other enhanced flu vaccine, CSL Seqirus’s Fluad. From 2024 through fall 2025, Sanofi marketed Efluelda to healthcare professionals in Germany and France, in which it (1) suggested weaker evidence supported Fluad compared to Efluelda; (2) misrepresented national vaccine recommendations; and (3) suggested Germany’s national vaccination recommendations were subject to unresolved scientific objections.

On June 26, 2026, the Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (“TFEU”) and adopted findings that Sanofi may dominate the EU’s enhanced flu vaccine market and that Sanofi’s marketing communications potentially violated the TFEU. Specifically, Article 102 of the TFEU