French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur on Monday has agreed to refund the Philippine government the cost of unused dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, which the Department of Health (DOH) demanded.
The vaccine manufacturer said it will pay back P1.4-billion worth of the dengue vials.
“Sanofi Pasteur has responded positively to the Philippine Department of Health’s (DoH) request that we provide reimbursement for the doses of Dengvaxia that were not used by the government in the public vaccination program,” the Dengvaxia manufacturer said in a statement on Monday.
Sanofi, however, dismissed that their decision is connected to any “safety or quality issue with Dengvaxia.”
“Our decision to reimburse for unused doses is 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,” the statement read.
“Sanofi Pasteur strongly believes that this tone is due to a misunderstanding of the benefits and risks associated with the dengue vaccine and 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,” it added.
Sanofi also said that they asked for a meeting with the DOH to discuss any questions on the reimbursement, and “to find ways to inform the Filipino public in a more balanced and evidence-based way on dengue vaccination while also restoring public trust in vaccination programs, in general.”
Last January 12, the DOH sent a demand letter to Sanofi, asking it for a reimbursement of the remaining untouched vials of Dengvaxia and to shoulder the costs of sero testing of more than 830,000 vaccinated students.
The dengue vaccination program was launched in April 2016 by former Health Secretary Janette Garin. This program aims to provide free vaccines to public school students in places with high incidences of Dengue.
However, this program was called off after Sanofi Pasteur admitted that its vaccine could lead to severe dengue if administered to a person who had not been infected with the virus. Authorities also halted the sale of Dengvaxia.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is currently investigating the procurement of the vaccine.
On Sunday, Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III called on the DOH to ask not only for a refund on unused Dengvaxia, but also for the P3.5 billion cost of the whole contract.