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Baxter詖迫透露和法國政府的秘密合約：公司免起訴
Baxter forced to disclose secret contract with French government: company cannot be prosecuted

Wednesday, 04 November 2009 13:00
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Baxter, the pharmaceutical company, cannot be prosecuted for any damage or death caused by its swine flu vaccines under the terms of the secret contract it sealed with the French government, it has emerged.
Baxter (製藥公司)和法國政府封印的秘密合約，已經出現，條文包括在引致任何損害及死亡下，都不會被控告。
Baxter was forced to disclose the full contract after Gerard Bapt, a member of the finance committee of the French National Assembly, intervened.
在Gerard Bapt(法國國家議會財委會成員)干預下，Baxter被迫透露全份合約。
The French government has kept the "swine flu" vaccine contract a secret for reasons of commercial confidentiality.
法國政府一路以商業秘密為由，保持豬流感疫苗合約秘密。
The contract reveals that Baxter can avoid all responsibility before the law for its 50,000 swine flu vaccines costing 10 euros each.
合約表露Baxter可以避免為五萬枝豬流感疫苗，每枝十歐羅，負上所有責任。

In addition, it shows that Baxter is set to deliver 150,000 vaccines against meningitus, a disease that can result in permament brain damage and death, as part of the French government's vaccination campaign against the "swine flu" pandemic.
The news that the French government took out an option to order Baxter's NESVAC meningococcal vaccines in such large quantities in December 2008 to tackle a pandemic will come as a suprise to many people. But a French public health body recommended the meningitus vaccines, allegedly because there was a higher risk of meiningococcal infection during a pandemic.
NESVAC contains 0.5 mg of an aluminium adjuvant, adding new toxic ingredients and dangerous viruses to the brew of Celvapan, Pandemrix and Focetria swine flu jabs.
The contract shows that Baxter does not even have to have regulatory authorisation to put its "swine flu" jabs on the French market.The company has been given blanket immunity from any prosecution or penalties.
The government "will not have any recourse to any action of indemnity" against Baxter in case Baxter delivers vaccines that do not conform to standards, the contract states.
"Undesirable side effects, expected or not expected, or a lack of efficacy" cannot be the basis for any claim, says the contract.
Baxter sealed the contract with a special government health body set up in March 2007 to deal with national health emergencies called L'EPRUS (L'Etablissement de Preparation et de Reponse aux Urgences Sanitaires).
L'EPRUS, headed by Thierry Coudert, gains sweeping powers in the event of a pandemic emergency, including the power to conclude contracts with pharmaceutical companies.
Baxter's Austrian subsidiary was found to have contaminated 72 kilos of seasonal flu material with the live bird flu virus this February, nearly sparking a global bird flu pandemic according to the Times of India.
Because Baxter is required to implement biosafety level 3 standards when handling the bird flu, an accidental contamination can be ruled out.
The incident is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Austrian police, though so far no action appears to have been taken.
The contract is so loose that Baxter could theoretically contaminate its 50,000 swine flu vaccines destined for France with the live bird flu virus - and still face no prosecution.
The news that Baxter has been given carte blanche to deliver vaccines that do not even require regulatory approval and that the company cannot be prosecuted no matter what it does will fuel concerns that pharmaceutical companies and government bodies are working hand in hand to maximise profits while ignoring all public safety considerations.
The French Health Minister Roseylne Bachelot -- ultimately responsible for the operation of L'EPRUS -- airbrushed her 12 years of employment for pharmaceutical companies from her CV, underlining the close but often hidden links between government officials and the pharma industry.
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