The Nigerian government has finally taken the $7 billion negligence suit against Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company, the world’s largest drug manufacturer, to court. The suit stems from alleged offenses the drug giant committed against nearly 200 Nigerian children when Pfizer administered an experimental antibiotic drug to the children in 1996. The Nigerian government is alleging that approximately 200 children either died or suffered deformities following trials of the drug Trovan to combat an epidemic of meningitis, measles and cholera. Of the 200 children affected, 11 died and 181 have suffered disabilities including deafness, paralysis, blindness, and brain damage.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared Trovan for use in adults in 1997, but later it was associated with liver damage and death, prompting the FDA to restrict its use in 1999 to only very serious adult cases. Later that same year, the drug was eventually pulled from the market altogether.
The Nigerian government claims that Pfizer had no authorization or parental consent to carry out the trial in Africa’s most populous country; Pfizer still insists they did have full approval for use of the drug on the Nigerian children.
The government’s case just suffered an early setback when the court rejected a request to allow it to submit “additional facts” before the judge adjourned the trial to July 20, 2007. The government’s lawyer hoped the introduction of additional documents to the court would make it impossible for Pfizer to invoke the statute of limitations, as the alleged offenses are more than ten years old.
If you or a loved one has suffered adverse side effects after taking a dangerous drug in Florida, please visit the website of the Dangerous Drugs Attorneys at The Glick Law Firm.
