Sanofi to refund P1.4-B unused Dengvaxia

By Charina Clarisse E. Echaluce

Pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur has agreed to reimburse the P1.4-billion unused Dengvaxia following the demand of the Department of Health (DoH).

In a statement sent to the press yesterday, Sanofi said it will pay the vaccines which were not used during the government’s mass immunization program.

“Sanofi Pasteur has responded positively to the Philippine Department of Health’s request that we provide reimbursement for the doses of Dengvaxia that were not used by the government in the public vaccination program,” it stated.

The company clarified that agreeing to the DoH’s demand does not mean that their vaccine has a quality or safety issue. “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,” it explained.

“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.