The government of Nigeria is suing mega-Pharm Pfizer for testing a meningitis drug on kids that left 11 of them dead and others disabled.
Nigeria claims Pfizer illegally conducted tests of the drug, Trovan, on 200-children in 1996. The following year Trovan was approved by the US FDA for adults but not children. Its production has since been cancelled. Pfizer denies all the allegations. From The Guardian:
"Pfizer has said previously that it obtained "verbal consent" from the parents of the affected children, and that the drugs were administered properly. But, before the trial, Juan Walterspiel, a disease specialist for Pfizer, warned the company that the drug was not "tested for its sensitivity before the first child was exposed to a live-or-die experiment".
"Human rights groups have already accused some drugs firms of using Africa as a testing ground for medicines not approved by Europe or the US. In response to the Nigerian case, a US congressman, Tom Lantos, introduced laws to ensure safer testing of drugs in foreign countries. But the legislation ended last year.
"A civil and criminal suit by the Kano government against Pfizer was postponed on Monday until next month. It is seeking $2bn in damages. The state filed charges - including those of criminal conspiracy and voluntarily causing grievous harm - against Pfizer and eight current or former executives and researchers."
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