The USB mystery

In the last public hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the alleged Dengvaxia-related death causes, Senator Richard Gordon called attention to a questionable transaction by a government official in one of the attached agencies of the Department of Health (DOH) with Sanofi-Pasteur, the pharmaceutical company behind the controversial anti-dengue vaccine.

What makes it doubly suspicious was the admission by the DOH official that a representative of Sanofi-Pasteur, in a spy movie-like cloak-and-dagger meeting, passed on the information through a gadget more popularly called as USB, or the acronym referring to universal serial bus. The USB is a gadget used to store large amounts of information that can be attached  and copied from computers and laptops.

Speaking of spy-like movies, Thomas Triomphe, head of Sanofi’s Asia-Pacific division, reminded me of a favorite French character being mimicked by American actor Steve Martin in the remake of “The Pink Panther” comedy film.

Martin plays the role of fictional bungling French Police Inspector Jacques Clouseau. He was so good in mimicking how Frenchmen speak in English like how Triomphe speaks during the Senate public hearings.

Levity aside, Triomphe, to his credit has been religiously attending every Senate hearing on the Dengvaxia controversy. Despite being under heavy barrage of inquisitorial hearings conducted by the Senators, not to mention bad publicity for his company, Triomphe has been cool under pressure.

At the resumption of the public hearing on the questioned P3.4 billion worth of procured Dengvaxia while still under testing stage, Sen. Gordon elicited admission from Benjamin Co, a director in one of the specialized subdivisions at the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) regarding reports obtained by the Senate Blue Ribbon about the USB incident. Specifically, Co is the director of the Center for Drug Registration and Research (CDRR) of the FDA. 

Sworn under oath, Co admitted having received a USB from Sanofi.  Co further swore he did not open the USB and that he does not know what it contains. All that he did, he told the Senate hearing, was to send the USB over to the DOH.

Co’s statement is now unjustly portraying the newly confirmed DOH Secretary Francisco Duque as being “in bed” with a global pharmaceutical company. Co’s claim is both puzzling and alarming. Why should Sanofi-Pasteur channel a valuable information gadget to Co when it was purportedly intended for Secretary Duque? After all, Co is a known loyal supporter of ex-DOH secretary Paulyn Ubial whom Duque replaced?

This is also alarming because – by his statement – Co insinuated that Sanofi-Pasteur is in “secret conversations” with the current highest public health official of the land even while the Dengvaxia scandal has sent to hysteria and panic the parents of more than 800,000 public schoolchildren inoculated with this anti-dengue vaccine. The conversation is so secret that the transmission of information cannot be made through official channels?

What made the transmittal of the Sanofi-Pasteur USB to Co baffling was that it was done in complete violation of FDA procedures. Gordon pointed out about an existing FDA order that bans personnel of the regulatory agency from directly receiving documents from external sources. The standard procedure is for the FDA Action Center to receive such documents and then refer them to the appropriate department.

In Co’s case, the Sanofi-Pasteur representative simply told a security guard to directly hand over the USB to the FDA official. The public, however, cannot help but suspect  the full story behind the mysterious USB. 

Why did Co risk violating an FDA rule just for that Sanofi-Pasteur USB? Why would Sanofi-Pasteur violate FDA procedure just to make sure that mysterious USB is handed over to Co? Why Co? Why did Sanofi-Pasteur go to Co and not to any other FDA official via that route which violated internal rules and procedures?

The worse part of Co’s “admission” that he had violated FDA procedures is his insinuation that the real intended recipient of that Sanofi-Pasteur USB is Secretary Duque himself.

This is simply unfair to Duque.

For having unfairly and unjustly created this public perception, or suspicion at worst, we hope Secretary Duque will order a full-dress investigation of this wannabe foreign agent FDA official. At this point, it is important for Secretary Duque to ensure that no perception is formed on the part of the public that the government is conniving with Sanofi-Pasteur to water down and eventually kill the issues surrounding the controversial Dengvaxia.

Any and all dealings of the current administration with Sanofi-Pasteur should be aboveboard, public, and transparent. This way, the government – particularly the health department – can make sure that the public anger would not be further aggravated.

For its part, Sanofi-Pasteur should explain what is in that mysterious USB and for whom it is really intended. It will also be good for Co to give the public the full picture. After all, he has already admitted before the Senate that he has violated the established rules and procedures of the regulatory agency he serves.

However, the public still needs to be enlightened as to why Co would violate these rules just to act as messenger cum conduit for Sanofi-Pasteur. Co should also do this to be fair to Secretary Duque. He should not make Duque – as the incumbent DOH Secretary – the receptacle of the public suspicion that Co now wants to rid himself of.

Nobody is buying the excuse that Co did not take a look at the Sanofi-Pasteur USB and is ignorant of its contents. There is definitely something valuable in that USB that would merit Co’s risking his career and reputation.

And, there must be something in that mysterious USB that would merit Co’s putting Secretary Duque in a delicate situation.

This is unfair and unjust to Secretary Duque and the good secretary should correct the situation right away.