JOFFE & ASSOCIÉS secures a major victory: the Paris Court of Appeal has ordered Sanofi to pay over €150 million to the French National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) for practices related to Plavix.
JOFFE & ASSOCIÉS announces a major victory in one of the most significant damages cases arising from anticompetitive practices in France. The Paris Court of Appeal has ordered Sanofi to pay more than €150 million to the French National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) for practices related to the drug Plavix.
A record €150.7 million award
In a judgment handed down on 24 September 2025, the Paris Court of Appeal (Division 5 – Chamber 4) ordered Sanofi SA and Sanofi Winthrop Industrie SA, jointly and severally, to pay CNAM a total amount of €150,748,005 in damages.
This ruling follows the abuse of dominant position through disparagement practices sanctioned in 2013 by the French Competition Authority and definitively upheld in 2016 by the Cour de cassation. Sanofi had hindered the entry of Plavix generics into the French market, depriving the French Health Insurance system and patients of substantial savings they would have achieved in the absence of Sanofi’s anticompetitive conduct.
Damages spanning nearly a decade
The court-appointed expert report, conducted over more than two years, established that the anticompetitive practices continued to produce effects until September 2021—over ten years after their implementation.
The damages are broken down as follows:
- €111,666,964 for harm related to reimbursement of insured persons
- €14,556,030 for harm related to pharmacists’ remuneration
- €24,525,011 in financial damages resulting from the passage of time
The Court of Appeal also rejected Sanofi’s request to set aside the expert report and order further expert proceedings, thereby validating the methodology used by CNAM and its counsel in the calculation of damages.
This decision perfectly illustrates the principle of full compensation for harm suffered by victims, even indirect ones, of anticompetitive practices—in this case, the French National Health Insurance Fund.
The JOFFE & ASSOCIÉS team, composed of Tehani Goy and Olivier Cavézian (partners) and Fanny Callede (counsel), conducted this complex litigation for nearly a decade.
Additional awards
In addition to damages, the Court ordered Sanofi SA and Sanofi Winthrop Industrie SA, jointly and severally, to pay CNAM:
- €500,000 pursuant to Article 700 of the French Code of Civil Procedure
- All first-instance and appellate court costs
- Judicial expert fees amounting to €217,641.94 including VAT
In this case, the Joffe & Associés team was supported by the economics consultancy RBB Economics (Francesco Rosati and Julie Yerle).
