Posted on 06/05/2007 8:29:13 AM PDT by Zakeet
The Nigerian government filed a lawsuit Monday against Pfizer Inc., asking for $7 billion in damages over allegations the pharmaceutical company conducted a drug experiment that led to deaths and disabilities among children more than a decade ago, court papers showed.
The civil case filed in the capital, Abuja, is separate from a legal challenge launched in the northern state of Kano that seeks $2 billion from Pfizer, although all the cases stem from the same mid-1990s drug study.
Pfizer has denied the charges in the Kano case, which are substantively similar to those in the Abuja-based suit.
In the civil suit filed in Kano, authorities 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.
Pfizer has insisted its records show none of the deaths was linked to Trovan or substandard treatment. That civil suit is asking the judge to award Kano state $2 billion. Both that case and a related criminal action against Pfizer officers were both postponed Monday after the plaintiff's counsel failed to show up for the initial court hearing.
[Snip]
Islamic leaders in largely Muslim Kano had seized on the Pfizer controversy as evidence of a U.S.-led conspiracy.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
“And for the deposit of a mere $1 million, you can share in a portion of the award with finance minister Utambe Belango (and coo mean drum). Simply reply to this most urgent email.”
These little backwards countries don’t have much, but they have a dictionary. And they know what “SUE” means.
Trovan was subsequently withdrawn from the market worldwide due to serious liver toxicity. It must suck to be Pfizer.
“If untreated, meningitis is lethal for 95 percent of patients within two years.”
http://patients.uptodate.com/topic.asp?file=fung_inf/2323
So it seems that 95 of the 100 would have died, but only 11 did......Now - were the 11 all of the control group who were allegedly treated with inadequate doses; and if the “inadequate” dose killed 11, why didn’t it kill all 50 controls?
Who wants to bet that these same corrupt officials begged and pleaded with Pizer to set up a facility to experiment on their population. Officials get bribes, locals get paid as test subjects.
By “suing” they get to capture graft on the way in and the way out.
An entire nation set up as a criminal enterprise. Amazing.
Officials get bribes
Baksheesh in arabic, “dash” in Nigeria.
Actually it must suck to be a Nigerian.
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