"Be a Wall" against Dengue, get yourself vaccinated

When I was away from my kids 4 years ago to be exact. My son was hospitalized and diagnosed of Dengue fever. I was working abroad.  My eldest daughter called up and told me that my son had an on-and-off fever and a body malaise. I checked on them everytime I got my chance even at work. The son was hospitalized for 6 days and discharged after his temperature went stable. This was not the first time he contacted the disease, he got it when he was 7 months old,  in his teenage years and now in his 20s. I am praying though that he would not catch the dreaded disease again same for his siblings and your kids too. Just like any parent, I was praying for a dengue vaccine then which was on its way to be invented.  God is good because my prayer was answered today.

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of multinational pharmaceutical company and industry leader, launches “Be a Wall” campaign to mobilize the citizenry in a nation-wide campaign against the spread of dengue.

The campaign aims to build awareness among Filipinos parents and inform them how they can better protect themselves and their loved ones against the fastest-growing mosquito borne disease.  It also aims to educate them about the multi-pronged ways to prevent dengue infection – vector-control, disease information and vaccination.

Sanofi celebrity ambassadors Maricel Pangilinan, Paola Abrera and Tintin Babao graced the event together with Sanofi Pasteur executives, medical practitioners and media last October 25 at Novotel, Manila. The celebrity ambassadors shared their dengue story/experience to the media and ways on how to prevent it and "be a wall" against the disease.

Dengue remains to be one of the fastest-growing mosquito-borne diseases in the world and the Philippines ranks among the top-three countries affected by it.  Cebu City, for example, has just declared a state of calamity with over 5,821 dengue cases recorded as of October 2016.  Other areas considered as the most infected hotspots include Metro Manila or NCR, Region IV-A or CALABARZON, Northern Mindanao, SOCCSKSARGEN, Central Luzon, and Western Visayas.

The Be a Wall campaign will also engage Filipinos by inviting them to connect, share their experience, ask questions, and join a community that’s building the nation’s resistance against dengue.  It aims to remind them of their role to step up the fight against the disease and to get involved by taking an active part in health matters that affect them and their families.

Maricel Laxa Pangilinan

“As responsible Filipino moms, let our voices be heard to raise awareness on dengue and let’s spread the good news that it is now a vaccine preventable disease. Each of us can now be a wall against dengue,”according to multi-awarded actress, Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan.

Paolo Abrera

“It’s great news that there is a dengue vaccine now available in the market. As a public affairs anchor, I’m on top of the news everyday and it’s very alarming to note the rising dengue cases from different regions of our country. It’s definitely a relief for Filipino parents out there especially a father like me to be able to visit our doctors today and have our kids vaccinated,” – Paolo Abrera.

Celebrity mom, Christine Bersola-Babao also expresses her support for the dengue vaccine. “I am a mother of two and I want my kids (family) to be safe from life-threatening diseases like dengue. Aside from the vector control measures that we have been doing, we really need a new tool that will help us in fighting the epidemic and vaccination is the answer. I encourage other Filipino moms to ask their doctors about dengue vaccination today,” she shared.

Beyond the Vial: A Social Value Business Model For Sanofi Pasteur’s Dengue Vaccine

Dr. Su - Peing Ng, Global Medical Director of Sanofi Pasteur is joined by Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Professor Tikki Pang at a recent launch of Sanofi’s dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia last Sept 20 at New World Hotel Makati with Sanofi officials and media.

Dr Su-Peing Ng and Professor Tikki Pang discussed with members of the press the latest scientific evidence or data on the dengue vaccine and how it prevented the rise of dengue fever in the country.

Dengue is a serious and complex disease. The mosquitos that transmit dengue indiscriminately pass the disease amongst people of all ages and socio-economic levels.  About half of the world’s population lives in areas where dengue is endemic, and millions suffer its seemingly bone-breaking pain and severe fevers, each year. Its reach has grown 30-fold in the last 50 years, swelling with globalization, urbanization, and climate change. Global costs of dengue are around $9 billion, annually . But in the years ahead, the tide of dengue could be better controlled through enhanced international collaborations in public health, and an innovative social business model with a vaccine at its core.

         
Twenty years ago, Sanofi Pasteur identified the potential scale of the dengue problem at its early stages, and began to put in place a set of innovative scientific and industrial solutions. In 2015, the dengue vaccine received its first market approvals.  In July 2016, after more than two years of review processes and inputs from clinical trial data and from top global dengue and infectious diseases experts, the World Health Organization issued its recommendation that countries where the dengue burden is high should consider vaccine introduction as part of integrated dengue prevention and control measures. As of September 14th 2016, the vaccine waslicensed in 9 endemic countries in Asia and Latin America  and public immunization programs are underway in Brazil and the Philippines, while the vaccine is also available on the private markets in those countries as well as in Mexico and El Salvador.

The story behind the vaccine is one of hard-earned research and development – but you’ve heard that story before. This story goes beyond the vial, as well: It’s about a new, social value business model that Sanofi Pasteur has built in collaboration with dengue-endemic countries and global health institutions. In time, it can help control dengue. But as importantly, it can help to support better healthcare outcomes in emerging markets by accelerating access to needed innovations.

When Sanofi Pasteur first identified a viable dengue vaccine candidate, we saw the opportunity to develop a health solution specifically for the countries where the dengue burden is highest.  We wanted to make sure that people who lived in grip of dengue’s threat were the people for whom the vaccine is designed and delivered primarily.  It sounds simple enough but in traditional pharmaceutical business models, this is often not the case.  More often than not, travelers and other select groups of individuals from high-income countries have access to new preventive tools against tropical diseases first, at a premium, before these solutions are made available, often as many as 10 years later, in less rich economies, even if this is where the disease burden is heaviest.

Our faith in this“flipping the model” approach was inspired by the scale of the dengue problem. Vaccines are widely considered among the most effective healthcare interventions against infectious diseases. They often confer protection against a disease that extends beyond the vaccinated to also the unvaccinated population. Given dengue’s massive spread, a vaccine could help national authorities in dengue-endemic countries achieve WHO 2020 objectives for dengue reductions in mortality (50%) and morbidity (25%) if it is implemented in large-scale public health programs1.

We anticipated this, and began building robust public health collaborations and industrial resources essential to success. The global clinical development program of the vaccine included 40,000 participants in 15 countries across Asia and Latin America ,  ,  . We invested in extensive skills training for healthcare personnel, upgraded healthcare facilities and increased prevention and education efforts. We captured new scientific insights into dengue epidemiology and transmission which is shared with host governments.  In parallel, Sanofi Pasteur built a dedicated dengue-vaccine production facility that will allow large and cost-effective supply to support optimal uptake of the vaccine as needed around the world.

Successful implementation of dengue vaccination programs can help governments in dengue-endemic countries to take control over the disease. Mathematical modeling of the vaccine’s impact indicate  that if countries take up broad public vaccination programs in highly dengue-endemic countries like those that participated in the Phase III development of the vaccine, vaccination can help cut the burden of disease in half over five years . Healthcare systems’ loads can be lightened and they can attract further outside public health investment with demonstrated program results. Successful vaccination programs therefore have the potential to be catalysts for social and economic progress.  Today, states like Paraná in Brazil are taking up the lead in this effort.  Public program introduction of the dengue vaccine in Mexico has been recommended by CONAVA, that country’s National Vaccination Council. Countries like these that have participated in the clinical development of the vaccine can see the value in the entire process as well as in the potential future results.

At Sanofi Pasteur, we welcome enhanced support and investment in the robust public-private collaborations that ensure broad reach for innovative health solutions like the dengue vaccine. Working together to establish balanced trust and long-term commitment to new ways of bringing innovation to people is critical to unlocking innovative business models’ fullest potential for improving public health worldwide.