QC court denies appeal of pharmaceutical firms, other defendants in Dengvaxia case

A LOCAL court denied the appeals of Dengvaxia vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur, Inc. and distributor Zuellig Pharma Corp., along with other defendants, to junk the civil case for damages against them in connection with the death of a child allegedly due to Dengvaxia inoculation. In the order dated March 20 but only released to the media Wednesday, Presiding Judge Manuel B. Sta. Cruz, Jr. said the case of Ariel A. Hedia and Ruby N. Hedia, whose child died allegedly due to the vaccine, said Quezon City is the proper venue to file the case contrary to the claim of Sanofi. The court also junked the claim that the case should not be entertained as no docket fee was paid by the parents. The court said they are exempt, being clients of the Public Attorney’s Office. The court also said that “it could render a valid judgement” on the case and the facts included in it. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas