FRENCH pharmaceutical giant Sanofi is to reimburse the Philippine government for leftover doses of an anti-dengue vaccine whose use was suspended due to health concerns, the two parties said Monday.
The manufacturer said the refund had nothing to do with safety issues and was meant to improve ties with the Philippine Health Department, which is investigating the deaths of more than a dozen children injected with Dengvaxia.
Regulators stopped the sale and distribution of the drug last month after Sanofi warned the shots could worsen symptoms for vaccinated people who contracted the disease for the first time.
The Health department said in a statement it had issued a “demand letter” to the company’s vaccine unit Sanofi Pasteur to refund P1.4 billion ($27.8 million) for unused supplies of the drug.
“Our decision to reimburse for unused doses is not related to any safety or quality issue with Dengvaxia,” said a statement from Sanofi Pasteur, which did not disclose the agreed amount.
“Rather Sanofi Pasteur hopes that this decision will allow us to be able to work more openly and constructively with the [Health Department] to address the negative tone towards the dengue vaccine in the Philippines today.”
Authorities have been investigating the deaths of 14 children who were among more than 830,000 given Dengvaxia last year in the world’s first public immunization program against dengue.
After the program began, Sanofi Pasteur released findings in November of a new study that showed Dengvaxia could lead to severe infections in some cases.
The disclosure triggered a public furore, with some parents blaming the vaccine for their children’s deaths and a number of legislators accusing the government of endangering public health.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque has also threatened to sue the company if it had withheld crucial information on the vaccine.
Sanofi Pasteur has maintained that no death has been found to have been caused by Dengvaxia.
“Sanofi Pasteur strongly believes that this tone is due to a misunderstanding of the benefits and risks associated with the dengue vaccine,” its statement said.
It cited “a lack of awareness amongst the general public, particularly parents of vaccinated children, that the overall benefit of dengue vaccination remains positive in high endemic countries like the Philippines.”
During Monday’s flag ceremony, Duque dared those who accused the Health department officials of corruption.
“I encourage those who are painting the Department of Health in bad light to present evidence to substantiate their claims,” Duque said.
“I cannot allow accusers to tarnish the good reputation of the Department of Health, which it has gloriously built over the years, by spewing unsubstantiated allegations,” he added.
Duque’s statement came after Dr. Francis Cruz, a former consultant of then secretary Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial in the DoH, claimed in a media interview that there exists a “mafia-like” group within the DoH, which is being linked to corrupt activities.
He also asked accusers to file charges before the Ombudsman if they can produce evidence of corruption in the department. He requested health officials named in the allegations to respond formally and clear their names.
“While the allegations are still unsubstantiated at this point, I will order a review of the contracts entered into by the previous administration,” Duque said.
Despite the recent controversies hounding the DoH, Duque said he still has confidence in the long legacy of professionalism, competence and integrity which has once made the Health Department No. 1 among line agencies of government in terms of integrity development efforts during his first term as Secretary of Health.
Ubial on Monday vowed to cooperate in any investigation that will be conducted into the alleged suspicious transactions involving health officials during the past administration.
Speaking in an interview over Unang Balita, Ubial noted that from the start, she has been fighting corruption.
She admitted that the alleged transactions will be “very difficult to prove” without documentary evidence and that there may also be a “coverup” among the officials and personnel involved.
Former Health secretary Janette Garin, meanwhile, challenged Cruz to file cases and show documents to prove his allegations.
She questioned the motives of Cruz while also insinuating that there might be some people backing him.
“I can assure you that during my time, there were no ghost deliveries of equipment, no ghost delivery of medicines,” she said.
Cruz alleged there was a conversion of part of the P3.55 billion spent to buy Dengvaxia that went to ghost projects. –AFP with Macon Ramos-Araneta