The European Commission announced that it has given legal force to commitments proposed by pharmaceutical company Sanofi as part of an antitrust investigation. The investigation was prompted by preliminary concerns of the regulator regarding possible smear campaigns against a competing product in Germany and France. The product in question is the Fluad vaccine — the only enhanced flu vaccine for vulnerable patient groups that competes with Sanofi's Efluelda vaccine. According to the Commission, Sanofi's actions could have constituted unfair discreditation of a competing product, which potentially restricted competition in the flu vaccine market for at-risk groups. As part of settling the dispute, Sanofi proposed a series of commitments which, in the Commission's assessment, are sufficient to address the identified competition concerns. The decision to give these commitments binding legal force means that the company is obligated to comply with them, and in the event of a breach, may face sanctions from EU antitrust authorities. The case highlights the attention of European regulators to the vaccine market, particularly in the segment of products for vulnerable and elderly patients, where a limited number of manufacturers can create risks for fair competition. The Commission did not impose a fine on Sanofi, which is typical for settlement procedures based on commitments, but confirmed the existence of preliminary concerns regarding the company's market conduct in two major EU countries.