Sanofi exec willing to go to jail if irregularities in Dengvaxia purchase emerge

A top official of French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur is willing to go to jail in the Philippines should irregularities emerge in the probe into the purchase of Dengvaxia by the government.

Sanofi Pasteur vice president and head of Asia Pacific Thomas Triomphe made his vow in response to a query by Negros Oriental Rep. Arnulfo Teves.

“If somebody would testify that there was a side transaction on this, are you willing to be jailed in the Philippines?” Teves asked.

To which Triomphe responded: “I am, your honor.”

The Sanofi official denied bribing anybody to secure the procurement contract from the Department of Health (DOH). “We have zero tolerance for corruption,” Triomphe said.

He confirmed that he was present in the meeting with then-President Benigno Aquino III and former Finance Secretary Cesar Purisma.

However, Triomphe said the meeting was not a sales pitch to Philippine government officials.

“We talked about the profile of safety and efficacy of the product after 20 years of research and development ... There was no presentation, we are painting the picture of the scientific data,” he said.

Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon did not buy into Triomphe’s explanation and alleged that the purchase agreement for the vaccine was made immediately after the meeting.

Triomphe reiterated that the meeting was not a sales pitch in favor of Sanofi but merely a short discussion on Dengvaxia.

Biazon got irked and threatened to cite the Sanofi official for contempt.

“Sanofi has corporate social responsibility. Seeing what’s happening in the country now, what corporate social responsibility is Sanofi going to do? You will be facing the wrath of the Filipino people,” Biazon said.

Albay second district Rep. Joey Salceda said the Sanofi official should be hailed to court.

“The way I look at him ... hardly any remorse, hardly apologetic. He still look very commercial to me,” Salceda said. — VDS, GMA News