Doliprane officially passes under the American flag

By The New Obs with AFP

Published on April 30, 2025 at 8:07 p.m.

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Doliprane, the most prescribed drug in France, is officially coming under American control, with the finalization on Wednesday, April 30, of the sale by Sanofi to the investment fund CD & R of control of the company that produces the popular yellow box.

"It's official: Opella is now an independent company" : the completion of this transaction, whose announcement in October sparked a backlash from politicians and unions, was confirmed just before the pharmaceutical giant's general meeting of shareholders on Wednesday afternoon in Paris.

Sanofi is selling 50% of its Opella subsidiary – which notably produces Doliprane – to the American fund CD & R, while retaining a 48.2% stake in this company which markets over-the-counter treatments and vitamins, minerals and supplements.

A sale worth 10 billion euros

"This change in shareholding does not change anything: Doliprane will remain in France for the French," assured Opella CEO Julie Van Ongevalle during the general meeting at the Palais des Congrès, located at Porte Maillot.

"With the commitments made in social matters, employment, investment, we have taken all parties into account," affirmed the chairman of the board of directors of Sanofi, the former banker Frédéric Oudéa.

Addressing shareholders, he stressed that "Sanofi received 10 billion euros" from the sale of Opella and recalled that he had decided to reward them by allocating half to a share buyback and "investing" to ensure the group's growth with artificial intelligence as the driving force.

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Shareholders have given a largely unenthusiastic thumbs-up to Paul Hudson's remuneration policy , with the resolution on this aspect passed with 75.36% of the vote. The British CEO's fixed annual remuneration will increase from €1.4 million (gross amount set in 2022) to €1.6 million for 2025, an increase of 14.3%.

"I hope you'll offer employees a 14% raise," quipped one man in the room. A share-based compensation increase for 2025 was also approved.

Compared to the two previous years, when union representatives came out in force to create a stir, their presence was much more discreet for this 2025 edition. "Wearing a jersey on the eve of May 1st is pulling the rug out from under our feet, but it's deliberate. They know perfectly well that afterward, it's very difficult to remobilize," criticizes Fabien Mallet, a CGT Sanofi France union representative.

"We are really annoyed, because we see that there is no consideration" of the expectations expressed by employees: "basically, we learn that Mr. Paul Hudson (Editor's note: CEO of Sanofi) is going to get a raise," "that we are continuing with what is not working," he declared to AFP.

Apart from the sale of Opella, the union representative points to another "hot spot that is mobilizing us a lot: the sale of the Amilly site" in Loiret, where the Aspegic and Kardegic brands are manufactured, and where a strike movement has been underway since this announcement on March 5.

"We want to remain within the Sanofi umbrella," Laurent Boitard, central union representative for the CGT, told AFP, indicating that "almost 40% of staff" are continuing their walkouts and that "negotiations on accompanying measures will begin on May 12."

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