Sanofi Pasteur, a global healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients' needs,  and MSD, known as Merck in the United States and Canada, announced their intent to end their joint vaccines operations in Europe.

Upon concluding their joint venture, both companies plan to integrate their respective European vaccine businesses into their operations, independently manage their product portfolios and pursue their own distinct growth strategies in Europe.

The joint venture Sanofi Pasteur MSD, owned on a 50/50 basis by Sanofi Pasteur and MSD, was created in 1994 to develop and commercialize vaccines originating from both companies' pipelines to improve and promote public health in 19 European countries. Over the past twenty years, Sanofi Pasteur MSD has launched numerous innovative vaccines originating from Sanofi Pasteur and MSD's development pipelines, addressing key unmet medical needs and helping to protect millions of lives.

Sanofi Pasteur and MSD jointly issued the following statement: "We are proud of Sanofi Pasteur MSD's successful 20-year history. Our joint venture has achieved considerable success over the past two decades from a public health and commercial perspective. After carefully considering our individual strategic priorities, alongside the economic and regulatory environments for vaccine operations in the European Union, we have mutually agreed that it is in our best interests to manage our vaccine product portfolios independently. We believe that focusing our efforts on opportunities unique to our respective companies will better position us to drive growth, execute in a more efficient manner and optimize vaccine coverage. By bringing vaccines more rapidly to market, both companies would deliver greater value to all stakeholders."

Sanofi Pasteur and MSD will ensure that any impact on employees as a result of the proposed changes to the business model will be managed responsibly. We are also focused on a smooth and orderly transition while achieving our public healthcare goals and upholding our commitments to our customers and business partners.

Sanofi Pasteur and MSD expect the project to be completed by the end of 2016, subject to local labor laws and regulations and regulatory approvals.

Sanofi Pasteur MSD is a European joint venture formed between Sanofi Pasteur (the vaccine division of Sanofi) and Merck (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada). Sanofi Pasteur MSD makes use of the combined expertise resulting from Sanofi Pasteur and Merck's research to focus on the development of new vaccines in Europe in order to produce the most effective, most acceptable and better tolerated vaccines. Sales of Sanofi Pasteur MSD were €824 million in 2015.