(updated with details)
PARIS, March 23 (Reuters) – Sanofi SASY.PA announced on Wednesday that it would stop all new spending unrelated to the supply of its “essential” medicines and vaccines in Russia and Belarus, saying it was “shocked and saddened by the brutality of the ‘Russian aggression against Ukraine’.
“In full alignment with the position of the international community, we have taken the decision with immediate effect to stop any new expenditure that would not be directly linked to the supply of our essential medicines and vaccines in Russia and Belarus”, said the French laboratory in a statement posted on Twitter.
Sanofi specified that it was notably ending its advertising and promotional activities, and that it was also stopping recruiting patients in these countries for ongoing clinical trials.
“Stopping all of our operations would be tantamount to depriving those who need them of essential medicines and vaccines. It would go against our vocation,” he added in the press release.
(Written by Jean Terzian, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot and Matthieu Protard)