Sanofi Discloses Investigation into Potential FCPA Violations

Whistleblower Pharmaceutical

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi S.A. has disclosed that it is investigating whether certain payments made by company employees from 2007 to 2012 in the Middle East and Africa to healthcare professionals violated the FCPA. Sanofi reportedly launched the investigation after receiving anonymous whistleblower allegations, including allegations that company employees made payments to doctors for prescribing Sanofi-manufactured pharmaceuticals. According to news reports, Sanofi has self-reported the allegations to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Sanofi’s disclosure appears to continue the trend of investigations and potential enforcement actions in the pharmaceutical industry concerning payments related to prescriptions, as well as the trend of companies self-disclosing whistleblower allegations.