Sales of Sanofi’s COVID-19 and flu vaccines fell 17% in the third quarter amid declining vaccination rates and pricing pressures in Europe.
Sales of Sanofi’s legacy vaccines business declined nearly 8% in the third quarter to €3.36 billion ($3.9 billion) amid falling flu and COVID-19 vaccination rates in the U.S.
For those two vaccines, sales declined nearly 17% for €1.53 billion ($1.78 billion) for the period, according to a third quarter earnings report released Friday morning. Sanofi said the result was in line with full year expectations.
“As expected, our flu vaccines business declined because of increased price competition and lower vaccination rate,” CEO Paul Hudson said in a statement.
The vaccines also faced pricing pressure elsewhere in the world, particularly in Germany, the company said.
Other vaccines in Sanofi’s stable include Beyfortus for protection against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract disease. The shot notched €739 million ($858 million) in sales, a nearly 20% increase. This was driven by roll outs around the world, as it is now available in 40 countries.
In the second quarter, Sanofi’s vaccine business grew 10% thanks to Beyfortus. Hudson during that earnings call in July also noted a bump from late 2024-2025 flu season in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to the seasonal nature of flu and RSV, Sanofi typically expects the second half of the year to be the most profitable for the vaccine business, he said.
Sanofi was already expecting “competitive forces” to pressure vaccine sales with an expected decrease in the “mid-teens percentage,” CFO François-Xavier Roger said on the second quarter call. Still, Sanofi expected to gain market share. Roger expected sales to split about 75% in the third quarter and 25% in the fourth.
Sanofi executives were asked at that time if Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign to overhaul vaccine policy in the U.S. was having any effect. “I don’t have any specific comment on the new administration view on flu,” Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president of Vaccines, said at the time.
While Kennedy has taken steps to restrict access to COVID-19 vaccines, he has not changed flu recommendations in the U.S. Meanwhile, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that vaccine rates for common childhood shots have declined. The CDC has not yet begun reporting weekly flu vaccine data as the 2025/26 season gets underway.
Sanofi’s COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid comes from Novavax. The two companies partnered in May 2024 with Sanofi taking over commercialization of the shot. Novavax received $500 million upfront plus $700 million in potential milestones.
The partners have been working on a combo COVID/flu vaccine as well. In its Q3 earnings report, Sanofi said the company is in talks with regulators after the SP0287 program delivered preliminary positive results.
Also in the earnings report, Sanofi announced the discontinuation of the SP0125 RSV vaccine for toddlers. A futility analysis determined that the vaccine had insufficient efficacy in the Phase III PEARL trial
