Pfizer Defends Nigerian Drug Tests
Pfizer claims its drug tests on Nigerian children saved lives in court papers filed in one of four legal actions being pursued by the country.
Nigeria has filed criminal charges and $8.5 billion in civil claims against Pfizer, contending the company’s tests of the antibiotic Trovan led to the deaths of 11 children and injuries suffered by 189 others.
Pfizer said it acted in the best interests of the children and any deaths were the result of the 1996 meningitis epidemic, the Washington Post reports. The papers, filed in a case pending in Kano state court, seek dismissal of the suit.
The company said 94.4 percent of children treated with Trovan survived, compared to 93.8 percent who survived on another drug, and 90 percent for the rest of the hospital.
