SANOFI TO REIMBURSE DOH P1.4B FOR UNUSED DENGVAXIA

By: Rie Takumi

            French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur will reimburse the Philippine government for the P1.4 billion unused stock of dengue vaccine Dengvaxia stored at Department of Health (DOH) warehouses.

            In a statement on Monday, Jan. 15, Sanofi said they agreed to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III's request in order to rehabilitate Dengvaxia's name in the country.

            They added that this decision was "not related to any safety or quality issue with Dengvaxia."

            "Rather Sanofi Pasteur hopes that this decision will allow us to be able to work more openly and constructively with the DOH to address the negative tone towards the dengue vaccine in the Philippines today," it said.

            Sanofi said, it believes the strong negative sentiment toward Dengvaxia was due to misunderstanding over "the benefits and risks associated with the dengue vaccine" and lack of awareness over the overall benefit of dengue vaccination in dengue endemic countries like the Philippines.

            It asked for a meeting with the DOH to discuss the reimbursement and ways to give the public a "more balanced and evidence-based" perspective on the dengue vaccine and the national vaccination program in general.

            Prior to the reimbursement, Sanofi was made to pay P100,000 in addition to having its certificate of product registration suspended by the Food and Drug Administration.

            Sanofi vice president Thomas Triomphe believes they have been vigilant in their monitoring of the administration of Dengvaxia and had not neglected to reporting adverse events caused by the vaccine./MP