Court denies Dengvaxia manufacturer's bid to junk civil case

A Quezon City court has denied the motions of dengue vaccine Dengvaxia's manufacturer and distributor to dismiss a civil case against them in connection with the death of a minor who was inoculated with the vaccine in 2017.

The officers of vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur and of its distributor, Zuellig Pharma, had asked the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 226 to junk a civil case filed by the parents of Abbie Hedia, a 13-year-old who died of "septic shock" last year.

Ruling against Sanofi's contention,however, the court said in a March 20 order received by the Public Attorney's Office on Tuesday that the case had been filed in the proper venue.

Presiding Judge Manuel Sta. Cruz, Jr. also held that the civil case stated a cause of action against the defendant-officers, and stood by an earlier order exempting the complainants, Hedia's parents, from paying docket fees.

"Hypothetically admitting the mentioned allegations together with other facts alleged in the complaint, the court may render a valid judgment upon the same," the court said in the 17-page order seen Wednesday.

The court dismissed the motions filed by Sanofi Pasteur, Zuellig Pharma, Carlito Realuyo, Conchita Santos, Jazel Anne Calvo, and Pearl Grace Cabali and gave the defendants "at least five days" from receipt of the order to file their answers.

This civil case is distinct from the criminal cases for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide that the Department of Justice filed against several personalities, including former Health chief Janette Garin, in connection with children's deaths allegedly linked to the vaccine.

The Department of Health has repeatedly said the alleged connection between the vaccine's effects and the deaths has not been proven.—LDF, GMA News