Pimentel: Sue Sanofi over refusal to fully refund Dengvaxia payments

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur should be sued “even in international courts” after it refused to refund the full amount of money spent by the government to purchase anti-dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, Senate President Aqulino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Monday.

In a statement, Sanofi said that “agreeing to refund the used doses of Dengvaxia would imply that the vaccine is ineffective, which is not the case.”

Sought for comment, Pimentel said in a text message: “Then they should be sued.”

Asked if the case should be separate from the charges already filed against the drug company, the Senate leader said: “Civil case, maybe even in international courts. Let us look at the grievance procedure in the contract.”

Earlier, Pimentel had urged the Department of Health (DOH) to demand for the refund of the entire cost of Dengvaxia purchase, and not only seek for the refund of unused vaccines.

READ: Pimentel urges DOH to demand full refund from Sanofi

Health officials previously disclosed that Sanofi had returned P1.6 billion worth of unused Dengvaxia, which, they said, was deposited to the Bureau of Treasury.   /kga