Corporate Malfeasance
History is littered with examples of pharmaceutical companies prioritizing profit over safety, concealing critical data, and facing criminal charges only after the damage was done.
The Promise: The world's first Dengue vaccine was rolled out to over 800,000 school children in the Philippines.
The Hidden Truth: Sanofi knew that for children who had never had Dengue before, the vaccine could cause Antibody-Dependent Enhancement (ADE), making a subsequent infection much more severe and potentially fatal.
The Fallout: After the vaccination campaign began, reports of severe illness and deaths emerged. In 2017, Sanofi finally admitted the risk. The Philippines Department of Justice indicted Sanofi officials and health ministers for "reckless imprudence resulting in homicide."
"Sanofi and former and current Philippine health officials [charged] over 10 deaths it said were linked to use of a dengue vaccine."
— Reuters, March 1, 2019
The Event: During the 2009 H1N1 "Swine Flu" pandemic, GSK's Pandemrix vaccine was rushed to market in Europe.
The Hidden Data: A BMJ investigation later revealed that GSK had internal safety reports showing a significant disparity in adverse events between Pandemrix and another version of the vaccine, but this data was not shared with the public.
The Fallout: Over 1,300 children and young adults developed Narcolepsy, an incurable sleep disorder. The British government was forced to pay millions in compensation, despite the manufacturer being indemnified.
The Risk: The "Urabe" strain of the mumps virus used in early MMR vaccines was known to cause aseptic meningitis.
The Cover-up: While Canada withdrew the vaccine in 1990 due to safety concerns, the manufacturer continued to sell it in the UK and developing countries. It wasn't until 1992, after widespread reports of meningitis in British children, that it was finally pulled from the UK market.
The Legacy: This incident shattered public trust and demonstrated that known dangerous products are often kept on the market until regulatory pressure becomes insurmountable.
While not a vaccine, Merck's Vioxx scandal proves that companies will hide deadly risks. Merck knew Vioxx caused heart attacks but hid the data for years. It killed an estimated 60,000 Americans before being withdrawn. The same companies making vaccines today are the ones who made Vioxx.