Sanofi, gov‘t officials in Dengvaxia mess sued for P4.1M in damages

This photo, taken on April 4, 2016, shows a nurse showing vials of the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, developed by French medical giant Sanofi Pasteur, during a vaccination program at an elementary school in Metro Manila. (Photo by NOEL CELIS / AFP)

The family of a child who died two months after receiving the Dengvaxia vaccine is seeking P4.1 million in damages from top government officials involved in the purchase and implementation of the controversial antidengue vaccine program.

The civil case, the first of its kind in relation to the Dengvaxia fiasco, was filed on the family’s behalf by the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court on Monday afternoon.

A separate administrative case was also filed on Monday by Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) at the Office of the President against those who spearheaded the botched dengue immunization program.

The child, 10-year-old Angielica Pestilos of Barangay Holy Spirit, Quezon City, died in December last year.

“Each death will merit its own civil action, and later, its own criminal action,” said PAO chief Persida Acosta.

Among the 31 respondents in the civil case are the board of directors and officials of Sanofi Pasteur, the French pharmaceutical company that manufactures Dengvaxia, and the board of directors and officials of Zuellig Pharma Corp., Sanofi’s local distributor.

Also included are former Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Janette Garin, resigned Health Undersecretaries Kenneth Hartigan-Go and Vicente Belizario Jr., Health Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo, and other senior DOH officials.

In a press conference on Monday, Dr. Erwin Erfe, PAO forensic expert, said Pestilos had no previous history of dengue infection, but she did have a preexisting disease, lupus, that should have barred her from receiving the vaccination.

After a review of her medical history, forensic examination and histopathological study done by Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center, Erfe concluded that Pestilos died from a viscerotropic-like disease that developed after she was injected with Dengvaxia.

Hemorrhages in the child’s lungs, heart, liver and stomach were observed, and her liver, spleen and both kidneys had been enlarged, according to Erfe.

“She shouldn’t have been vaccinated because she had a sickness and her resistance was weak. She should have been excluded from the mass vaccination program,” Erfe said.

He added that Pestilos’ preexisting illness flared up a mere week after she received the vaccine.

Pestilos is one of 15 children that have been autopsied by PAO in relation to Dengvaxia.

The bodies of six other children will also be autopsied by PAO, Acosta said.

Her office was criticized over the weekend by Sen. JV Ejercito and Doctors for Public Welfare (DPW), a group led by former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, who both called for the agency to put an end to its autopsies on children who had allegedly died due to the antidengue vaccine.

DPW, Ejercito and Malacañang stood by the results of a clinical review conducted by the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) on 14 children that concluded their deaths were not directly connected to Dengvaxia.

“Let’s leave the experts to do their job,” Ejercito had told the attorney’s office.

Acosta shot back on Monday, saying that asking PAO to put a halt to the autopsies was tantamount to an obstruction of justice.

“Hindi po pwedeng ilibing ang kasamaan. Dapat buksan at bigyan ng katarungan,” she said.

VACC lawyer Ferdinand Topacio added that there was “no monopoly on expertise” and that doctors making disparaging remarks should be ashamed of themselves for “denigrating” the abilities of their fellow doctors.

Topacio also accused Sanofi of paying for a coordinated public relations effort involving DPW and Ejercito.

“[UP-PGH] became the instrument [of Sanofi] to stop the work of PAO,” Topacio said. “It seems like Senator Ejercito, Sanofi and UP-PGH are all speaking with one voice. Why do they want us to stop? What are they trying to hide?”

Acosta also questioned the conclusiveness of the UP-PGH review and asked DOH to bare the identities of the 14 children used in the study.

She demanded that DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III prove his willingness to cooperate by providing free medicine and vitamins to the families of the 827,000 schoolchildren that had been vaccinated under the contentious program.

DOH has yet to provide VACC with documents that it requested in aid of its investigation into the alleged Dengvaxia-related deaths, according to Topacio. /atm