Pfizer faces $8.5bn suit

Source: Healthcare Digital

Date :01/10/2007 09:56:42

A court case brought by Nigeria against Pfizer resumes this week with the drug firm saying it acted to help to save the lives of African children during a meningitis epidemic.

Nigeria is suing the company for $8.5 billion, alleging Pfizer deceived patients and caused the death of 11 children in 1996 when it performed clinical trials for a new drug.

The meningitis outbreak killed more than 12,000 children in six months near Kano, a predominantly Muslim metropolis with a history of conflict with the West.

Ngozi Edozien, managing director of Pfizer in West Africa, said the company brought the experimental drug, Trovan, to Nigeria in response to an international plea for help.

The test involved 200 children, half of whom received Trovan while the other half received a proven meningitis treatment.

Restrictions

Nigeria alleges Pfizer was responsible for the deaths of eleven children and permanent health problems for many others. It says it failed to obtain the required approvals for the test and did not get proper consent from the patients.

Pfizer rejects all the charges. It says Trovan saved lives and the alleged victims were affected by meningitis, not the drug.

The case was first brought in the United States, but thrown out in 2005 by a judge who said it should be heard in Nigeria.

While the drug was licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration for use on adults a few months after the Kano trial, and briefly became one of Pfizer's top-selling drugs, severe restrictions on its use were imposed three years later when it was found to cause serious liver injuries in some patients.

The case resumes on Wednesday.

October 1 2007