Gov't pushes for full Dengvaxia refund

MANILA - Malacañang on Tuesday, January 16, welcomed the move of French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur to refund some P1.4 billion for the unused anti-dengue Dengvaxia vaccine.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. described Sanofi’s compliance as a “step in the right direction.”

“We welcome that refund but the position of the Department of Health is for a full refund,” he said in a press conference held at Malacañang.

“Now, nonetheless, we view this latest step of the pharmaceutical company as a step in the right direction,” he added.

Roque’s statement came after Sanofi announced it will refund P1.4 billion worth of unused Dengvaxia vaccine.

Sanofi, in a statement released Monday, heeded the Department of Health's appeal to give

back to the government at least one-third of the total money spent for the anti-denggue vaccination program.

The Dengvaxia manufacturer, however, stressed that their decision was not related to any “safety or quality issue” with the vaccine.

“Rather, Sanofi 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,” Sanofi said.

But DOH Secretary Francisco Duque insisted that the Sanofi refund the entire P3.5 billion allocated by the government for the purchase of the Dengvaxia vaccine.

The Philippines was the first country in Asia to greenlight the use of Dengvaxia in December 2015.

The DOH, however, ordered the suspension of the anti-dengue vacination campaign on December 1, 2017, shortly after Sanofi revealed new findings that the vaccine may cause severe dengue in persons who have not contracted the virus prior to immunization.