The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games may be one year away but Sanofi is already committing its considerable resources to raising awareness about meningitis and the risks associated with the disease.
On Monday, the French drugmaker announced the launch of The Meningitis Flag initiative alongside the Meningitis Research Foundation and the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations.
The aforementioned flag, designed by textile designer Laura Spring, features a yellow semi-circle to represent the patient, an upward-facing purple triangle to represent care and support from friends and family as well as a sea of blue to symbolize “the calm determination of the worldwide meningitis community to defeat this disease.”
The effort is following in the lead taken by the iconic pink ribbon for raising awareness around breast cancer.
Sanofi, which is a premium partner of next year’s Summer Olympic games in Paris, said the campaign will have out-of-home awareness messages displayed at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games at 500 locations across the city.
The flag will also be utilized by Team Sanofi athletes while the campaign involves para-athletes who have been affected by meningitis to promote a better understanding of the disease that, while deadly, is ultimately preventable.
Thanks to advances in treatment, meningitis infection rates have dropped significantly over the past 50 years but an estimated 10% to 15% of Americans who contract meningococcal disease die, according to the National Meningitis Association.
Sanofi cited statistics that indicated more than 2.5 million people contract meningitis annually and kills one-in-10 who are infected. That made combating the dangerous but preventable disease a priority for one of the world’s largest pharma companies.
“Meningitis is a hidden epidemic — quiet and insidious — but too often results in terrible consequences. It is therefore urgent and imperative to accelerate the global race to defeat meningitis,” Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said in a statement. “At Sanofi, we are committed to leveraging our partnership with Paris 2024 to elevate this fight worldwide, ensuring awareness that this disease can largely be beaten through vaccine innovation. We’re incredibly proud to support the launch of the Meningitis Flag and do our part to reach the World Health Organization’s goal to defeat meningitis by 2030”.
Sanofi unveiled The Meningitis Flag one month after releasing its latest earnings report, highlighted by a net profit of $1.58 billion. The year-over-year profit jump came despite a sales drop over the same period.
