Philippine government to seek $59M refund, sue Sanofi over dengue vaccine risks

The Philippine government is seeking a full $3 billion pesos ($59 million) refund in court from pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasture after reports surfaced suggesting its Dengue vaccine, which was used to immunize hundreds of thousands of children, could worsen the disease in some cases, according to Reuters.

Last week the Filipino Department of Health ordered Sanofi to pull the vaccine off the market after the drugmaker released a report disclosing that the vaccine, Dengvaxia,  may increase the risk of infection and worsen the symptoms of dengue in the long-term for people who were not exposed to the virus prior to vaccination. 

A large majority of Dengvaxia's sales have come from the Philippines through its government immunization program, which has vaccinated roughly 830,000 children.

"We will demand the refund of the 3 billion [pesos] paid for the Dengvaxia and will [demand] that Sanofi set up an indemnification fund to cover the hospitalization and medical treatment of all children who might have severe dengue," The Philippines' Health Secretary Francisco Duque told Reuters.

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