DOH vows to pursue legal action vs Sanofi

There’s no stopping the Department of Health (DOH) from pursuing legal action against pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur for non-disclosure of risks associated with the use of the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he already ordered their legal department to file a civil suit against Sanofi Pasteur.

Duque issued the order as the DOH received from Sanofi a letter rejecting the government’s demand to refund the used doses of Dengvaxia amounting to P1.6 billion.

“The DOH assures the general public that it will exhaust all legal remedies against Sanofi Pasteur and will bring its misrepresentation to justice,” Duque said.

Based on the terms of reference on the procurement of dengue vaccine, Duque said the DOH made it categorically clear that it intends to use Dengvaxia in a schoolbased immunization program for students, regardless of whether or not they have been infected by the dengue virus.

Duque noted that Sanofi’s labeling did not qualify the recommended use or risks on the serostatus at baseline of the intended recipient of the vaccine.

“Prior to Nov. 29, 2017 announcement, Sanofi never issued a warning or precaution regarding the vaccine’s use among individuals who have had no dengue infection,” Duque stressed.

Duque said it was only after the November 2017 announcement that Sanofi revealed that Dengvaxia poses an increased risk of contracting severe dengue to seronegative individuals.

“It is regrettable that this crucial information was only made public by Sanofi after the DOH has implemented the vaccine program to about 837,000 children,” Duque said.