MANILA - Regulators have asked French drug-maker Sanofi Pasteur Inc. to stop advertising its dengue vaccine and explain why it should not be sanctioned for doing so.

The Food and Drug Administration said Sanofi Pasteur has not complied with the Dec. 15 order to take down ads for Dengvaxia, the world's first vaccine for the mosquito-borne disease.

"Since Sanofi has not complied, we have issued summons directing them to cease and desist from airing the advertisements and Show Cause why they should not be penalized for violating the law," FDA Director General Nela Charade G. Puno said in a statement.

Television and radio stations were also asked to refrain from airing the advertisements, the FDA said.

The Philippines was the first Asian country to approve the vaccine, the company said in late 2015.

Dengue can trigger a crippling fever, along with muscle and joint pain. There is no known cure, and children are at particular risk.
The deadliest form of the disease kills 22,000 people a year, the WHO says. -- with reports from Agence France-Presse