Philippines to charge Sanofi staff and government officials over dengue vaccine

Philippine government prosecutors who investigated an aborted school immunisation campaign with Sanofi Pasteur’s dengue vaccine Dengvaxia have found probable cause for criminal indictment in Sanofi staff and government officials.

A total of 20 people will face a charge of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide relating to the deaths of 10 children, the Philippine Department of Justice announced.1 This includes a former health secretary, nine health department officials, officials of the country’s Food and Drug Administration and its Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, and six Sanofi employees.

Prosecutors allege that officials and regulators rushed to approve and buy the vaccine when it had not completed clinical trials, then allowed unqualified personnel to administer it. Sanofi staff are accused of failing to monitor the programme or assist families when adverse events were …