Pfizer has finally begun to compensate the families of the victims of the trial of the they find in Nigeria, a meningitis drug that killed children in Kano state in the northwestern part of the country 15 years ago.
The payments, which follow an out-of-court settlement, compensate the families of children killed by the Trovan, an antibiotic which Pfizer administered illegally in place of medicines of recognized efficacy during an epidemic of meningitis, thus effectively creating a illegal experimentation on unwitting patients. The experimentation led to the death and permanent physical and mental disability of many children, Pfizer distributed the drug even though it had not yet been registered by the health authorities.
Pfizer's defense in court argued that the doctors had obtained a verbal consent from the parents of the children and that in any case the children had died from the epidemic. It goes without saying that the parents of the little victims and local witnesses have denied this statement, just as other considerations offered by the company have fallen on deaf ears, to which it appeared that the mortality among patients treated with Trovan was lower than that known for other drugs or that there were fewer dead or disabled children than the Nigerian court has confirmed. Curiously also the authorization exhibited by Pfizer in court, which claimed to have requested and obtained it, turned out to be a forgery.
The drug was then approved in the United States, but only for use on adults, confirming the impression that Pfizer also drew from the experiment indications on the danger for pediatric patients which it denied in the trial. Despite US clearance, several adult patients have reported significant liver damage. That have been related to the use of the drug for more than two weeks or in the case of its reuse. Despite this dismal outcome, the Federal Drug Administration has not yet withdrawn the license. Even the state of Kano proved to be slow to react, given that it resisted the pressure and requests of the injured parties for 10 years before deciding to move against Pfizer, which evidently had found freedom of movement and understanding even at the government level in Nigeria.
Realizing that the trial would likely result in a conviction, the company agreed to a settlement in 2009 to pay victims and finance health care projects in the state. The two years that have passed since then have served to determine through DNA tests who the relatives of the victims were, who are entitled to compensation from Pfizer. What time does it say "glad" they were handed over to the first four families damaged, but has never admitted any responsibility. Because of the scandal, Nigeria then encountered great difficulties in its anti-polio vaccination campaign, which it had to suspend due to the population's fear of being used as a guinea pig "by the Americans" colluding with one of the most corrupt governments in the world. Only later and after many reassurance campaigns was the campaign resumed.
Friday 12 August 2011
