Is the potential sale of Doliprane by Sanofi to an American investment fund avoidable? Invited on France Inter on Tuesday, the Minister Delegate in charge of Industry Marc Ferracci indicated that if the “commitments” set by the government “were not taken” by Sanofi, there is, legally, “a possibility of blocking this sale “.
Sanofi announced on Friday that it was negotiating with the American investment fund CD&R to cede control of its over-the-counter product subsidiary Opella, which notably produces Doliprane, the most consumed drug in France. Since this announcement, unions and a large part of the political class have been concerned about the consequences of such a potential sale in terms of health sovereignty in particular.
Traveling to the Lisieux factory (Calvados) on Monday, the Ministers of Economy and Industry assured that they had started “discussions with Sanofi and Opella” about “the conditions which would be essential” for the formalization of an agreement. “The commitments that we are asking for will not only be extremely precise, but they will be accompanied by strong and intangible guarantees, accompanied by possible penalties and sanctions,” declared Antoine Armand.
On France Inter Tuesday, Marc Ferracci clarified the government’s “two objectives”: “the health security of the French, therefore security of supply” and “maintaining the industrial footprint, that is to say jobs but also research and development in France”. These two objectives are “non-negotiable”, insisted the minister, assuring that the government will “give itself the means to achieve them”.
Commitments accompanied by “sanctions”
For this, “we are going to ask Sanofi and the investment fund, which apparently has been retained, for commitments on industrial employment, on volumes produced, commitments on research and development, and then commitments on sub-funds. treating parties,” detailed the minister.
Not only will these commitments be “written in black and white”, promised Marc Ferracci, but they will also be accompanied by “a certain number of levers and in particular sanctions”. These could be “pecuniary”, he said. Another option considered by the government to ensure compliance with these guarantees, “we do not exclude bringing a public stakeholder into the capital of Opella in order to have, in governance, a form of right of inspection” over the projects.
If these commitments were “not taken into account” by Sanofi, the government assures that it could use “the monetary and financial code” to stop the sale, said Marc Ferracci. “We have this option which is entirely on the table,” he insisted.
However, the Minister of Industry warned that one of his objectives was “to protect industrial jobs but also to create jobs and ensure that foreign investments are maintained”. In the case of the sale of Doliprane, “we must hold two reins: we are committed to it, Doliprane will continue to be produced in France but we must also send investors the signal that it is good to invest in France and to create factories.