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Pfizer finalizes settlement with Nigeria state in drug testing lawsuit

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Drug maker Pfizer finalized a settlement Monday with the Nigerian state of Kano in a lawsuit over allegedly illegal clinical trials the company conducted in Nigeria in 1996. The Kano government had filed a lawsuit against Pfizer in 2007, accusing the company of administering meningitis medication to 200 Nigerian children, including 100 with the then-experimental antibiotic Trovan, without the authorization of the government or the consent of the patients' guardians. They also alleged that the testing killed 11 children and incapacitated 181 others, demanding a total of $2.75 billion in damages. Pfizer has consistently denied the allegations, and has said that the company's actions were both ethical and beneficial. The drug maker is expected to pay a total of $75 million to settle the claim, and the two sides plan to sign the settlement on Thursday. Kano and Pfizer reached a tentative agreement in the case in April, after Pfizer expressed hope in October that a settlement could be reached after ongoing negotiations in the case. In 2007, a Nigerian court rejected a request by Pfizer to dismiss the Nigerian government's lawsuit on technical grounds. Also last year, criminal court proceedings against Pfizer were suspended at the request of prosecutors, who asked for more time to prepare for trial.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 28, 2009 (boomark / email).