The Belgian courts have stopped the Federal Government from destroying €207 million worth of Covid-19 vaccines and other expired medical products, amid an ongoing financial dispute with pharmaceutical supply chain management company Medista.
As reported by Le Vif, the Court of First Instance in Brussels has banned the Federal Government from destroying Covid-19 products including vaccines, medicines and tests, after Medista launched urgent court proceedings to prevent their destruction.
Belgium's Health Ministry wants the products destroyed as they have reached their expiry date. Like many other countries globally, at the onset of the pandemic Belgium scrambled to buy up vaccines and other medical supplies. As the public health emergency has subsided, the State has had to destroy surplus vaccines and other supplies that are no longer usable.
However, Medista has objected to their destruction, saying that the products are key to resolving an ongoing financial dispute with the Federal Government.
Belgium-based Medista was the official distributor and stockholder of pandemic medical supplies for the Federal Government between 2020 and 2022, but in 2022 the contract was awarded to French multinational Movianto.
The State's public health service has since been reluctant to pay a substantial invoice issued by Medista for the relocation of products designated for destruction. Medista objected to the destruction of the products, arguing that first a full inventory of all stock needs to be taken to help resolve the dispute.
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The Brussels Court ruled that the stock cannot be destroyed or rendered unavailable in any other way until at least 29 August, when a judge will determine whether or not to appoint an independent expert to inventory the medical supplies.
If an inventory is needed, the Federal Government must then retain the products until it is completed, a process which could take months and cost tens of thousands of euros.
