Sanofi will sell its subsidiary producing Doliprane no earlier than the last quarter of this year 2024. Thirteen production sites are concerned, including two in France. A financial operation estimated at more than 15 billion euros which will have consequences on the supply of medicines, but also jobs in France.
At the Lisieux site in Normandy, a million boxes of Doliprane are produced every day by 250 employees. Employees who fear that everything will stop. We don’t know what will become of us, says Frédéric Devede, an IT specialist at Sanofi for 17 years.. I have a wife and a child, like everyone else, I have a mortgage that I have to repay, so morale is not good at all. We will potentially have announcements in September or October. We are waiting to find out who might be able to buy us out. »
Surely by foreign investment funds. The employees would then be quiet for five years before being sold again. Union representative Johann Nicolas is worried, and angry too. The subsidiary alone rakes in 5 billion euros per year, or 12% of Sanofi’s turnover: ” That’s what is completely incomprehensible. We still bring money to Sanofi and ultimately to the shareholders, too. »
But not enough for the company. Sanofi prefers to bet on more profitable sectors such as vaccines or innovative treatments. A change of strategy, made five years ago, by its new boss, the British Paul Hudson. Since then, Frédéric Devede no longer recognizes his company: ” It’s no longer the patient, it’s a consumer. We are changing our philosophy. We are not used to that. We are proud of what we do, we produce medicines and we help the population. »
A turn all the more surprising since President Emmanuel Macron considers the pharmaceutical sector to be strategic. He repeated it again a year ago during a trip to a laboratory in Ardèche: ” This area, that of medicines, is one of the sectors for which the loss of sovereignty is the most intolerable. »
Also readIn France, record production of Doliprane does not prevent supply tensions
With this sale, the Sanofi subsidiary could come under foreign ownership. Which is not without risk, according to health economist Frédéric Bizard: ” The risk of shortage would increase for France compared to the current situation, because France has lower distribution prices than other European countries. And so, we can think that investment funds will want to maximize the profitability of this subsidiary. And to increase the margins of this subsidiary, well, we must prioritize the countries that have the highest prices. »
Which is not the case in France. Result: ” There is a real risk that France will be served afterwards. “And that’s not the only danger: ” Because there is no reimbursement by Social Security, clearly prices will increase. It is almost mechanical, because, once again, these funds are there to maximize their profits. »
The sale of its consumer subsidiary is expected at the earliest in the last quarter of this year. Among the potential buyers is the American fund Advent, which has already bought several of its activities from Sanofi.