Philippine FDA orders Sanofi to take down dengue vaccine ads

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it has ordered pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur Inc. to stop airing television and radio advertisements for its dengue vaccine in violation of a ban on promoting prescription or ethical drugs in mass media.

The FDA said in a statement that it issued a summons on Dec. 13 directing the drugmaker to take down the ads for Dengvaxia. It also wrote to television and radio stations, asking them not to air the ads.

Sanofi said in a statement that the ads have been taken down.

The company said the order was in connection with a disease awareness campaign that it conducted.

The vaccine against dengue, a tropical mosquito-borne illness, became available in 2016 and was rolled out in Philippine public schools in April 2016.

The Philippines' generic drug law prohibit the promotion in mass media of pharmaceutical products that can only be dispensed with a doctor's order.