Nigerians file case against Pfizer
inmytree
Posts: 4,741
oh my...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070530/ap_on_re_af/pfizer_nigeria
Nigerians file case against Pfizer
Wed May 30, 12:38 PM ET
Authorities in northern Nigeria have filed a $2 billion civil case and were preparing criminal charges against the U.S. drug company Pfizer, accusing it of conducting a drug experiment that led to deaths and disabilities in a group of children more than a decade ago, according to court papers.
A notice of intent to file criminal charges, seen Wednesday, was submitted May 9 and the civil case was filed May 17. Officials said the civil suit could open as soon Monday. It was not clear when the criminal case — to be lodged against eight Pfizer officials — would begin, officials said.
The Washington Post reported the criminal charges had been brought, but officials in Kano said Wednesday that prosecutors had taken only a preliminary step in that direction.
New York-based Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, has denied any wrongdoing. A federal court in Manhattan dismissed a 2001 lawsuit by disabled Nigerians who allegedly took part in the study, but the case is under appeal.
In a statement this week, Pfizer said allegations in the Nigeria cases "are simply untrue — they weren't valid when they were first raised years ago and they're not valid today." It also said the Pfizer study was conducted "in a responsible and ethical way consistent with the company's abiding commitment to patient safety."
In the civil suit, authorities in northern Nigeria's Kano state allege Pfizer illegally conducted a drug experiment on 200 children during a meningitis epidemic in the state's main city, also called Kano, in 1996, resulting in deaths, brain damage, paralysis and slurred speech in many of the children.
Pfizer treated 100 meningitis-infected children with an experimental antibiotic, Trovan. Another 100 children, who were control patients in the study, received an approved antibiotic, ceftriaxone — but the dose was lower than recommended, the families' lawyers alleged.
Up to 11 children in the study died, while others suffered physical disabilities and brain damage. But Pfizer always insisted its records show none of the deaths was linked to Trovan or substandard treatment.
Authorities in Kano state are blaming the Pfizer controversy for widespread suspicion of government public health policies, particularly the global effort to vaccinate children against polio, which has met strong resistance in northern Nigeria.
The polio vaccine boycott "by citizens of Kano state is a direct consequence of the 1996 actions" of Pfizer, state prosecutor Aliyu Umar said in the court documents.
Islamic leaders in largely Muslim Kano had seized on the Pfizer controversy as evidence of a U.S.-led conspiracy. Rumors that polio vaccines spread AIDS or infertility spurred Kano and another heavily Muslim state, Zamfara, to boycott a long-term campaign to vaccinate millions.
Vaccination programs restarted in Nigeria in 2004 after an 11-month boycott. But the delay set back global eradication — the boycott was blamed for causing an outbreak that spread the disease across Africa and into the Middle East.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070530/ap_on_re_af/pfizer_nigeria
Nigerians file case against Pfizer
Wed May 30, 12:38 PM ET
Authorities in northern Nigeria have filed a $2 billion civil case and were preparing criminal charges against the U.S. drug company Pfizer, accusing it of conducting a drug experiment that led to deaths and disabilities in a group of children more than a decade ago, according to court papers.
A notice of intent to file criminal charges, seen Wednesday, was submitted May 9 and the civil case was filed May 17. Officials said the civil suit could open as soon Monday. It was not clear when the criminal case — to be lodged against eight Pfizer officials — would begin, officials said.
The Washington Post reported the criminal charges had been brought, but officials in Kano said Wednesday that prosecutors had taken only a preliminary step in that direction.
New York-based Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, has denied any wrongdoing. A federal court in Manhattan dismissed a 2001 lawsuit by disabled Nigerians who allegedly took part in the study, but the case is under appeal.
In a statement this week, Pfizer said allegations in the Nigeria cases "are simply untrue — they weren't valid when they were first raised years ago and they're not valid today." It also said the Pfizer study was conducted "in a responsible and ethical way consistent with the company's abiding commitment to patient safety."
In the civil suit, authorities in northern Nigeria's Kano state allege Pfizer illegally conducted a drug experiment on 200 children during a meningitis epidemic in the state's main city, also called Kano, in 1996, resulting in deaths, brain damage, paralysis and slurred speech in many of the children.
Pfizer treated 100 meningitis-infected children with an experimental antibiotic, Trovan. Another 100 children, who were control patients in the study, received an approved antibiotic, ceftriaxone — but the dose was lower than recommended, the families' lawyers alleged.
Up to 11 children in the study died, while others suffered physical disabilities and brain damage. But Pfizer always insisted its records show none of the deaths was linked to Trovan or substandard treatment.
Authorities in Kano state are blaming the Pfizer controversy for widespread suspicion of government public health policies, particularly the global effort to vaccinate children against polio, which has met strong resistance in northern Nigeria.
The polio vaccine boycott "by citizens of Kano state is a direct consequence of the 1996 actions" of Pfizer, state prosecutor Aliyu Umar said in the court documents.
Islamic leaders in largely Muslim Kano had seized on the Pfizer controversy as evidence of a U.S.-led conspiracy. Rumors that polio vaccines spread AIDS or infertility spurred Kano and another heavily Muslim state, Zamfara, to boycott a long-term campaign to vaccinate millions.
Vaccination programs restarted in Nigeria in 2004 after an 11-month boycott. But the delay set back global eradication — the boycott was blamed for causing an outbreak that spread the disease across Africa and into the Middle East.
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Comments
huh... i must be wrong
I don't get it...
are you attempting to make a joke...?
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
The economy has polarized to the point where the wealthiest 10% now own 85% of the nation’s wealth. Never before have the bottom 90% been so highly indebted, so dependent on the wealthy.
africa has always been the centre of exploitation by the world's wealthy ...
dosen't really shock me at all, look at the worlds reaction to 5 years of Sudan, the disaster that was Somalia, Rwanda, Zaire, Nambia etc etc.