Just say no

Recently, the Nigerian government and that of the Nigerian state of Kano have filed suits against Pfizer seeking nearly $10 billion in damages. The suits accuse the New York City-based phamaceuticals giant of treating nearly 200 Nigerian children with an untested antibiotic called trovan floxacin without authorization during a meningitis outbreak in Kano in 1996. That was a year before the drug was approved for use in the US.

Some of the children treated have experienced recurring and persistent health problems in the years since; one father now describes Pfizer as "a vampire" that used the children as guinea pigs.

That there are problems with the drug is undeniable:

In 1999, US and European drug regulators took action on Trovan after reports of liver trouble and deaths, with the former restricting its use to serious adult cases and the Europeans recommending its suspension from that market - a decision that has been made permanent, according to the Pfizer website.

However, in regard to the suit,

Pfizer fought back Tuesday, saying the "1996 Trovan clinical study was conducted with the full knowledge of the Nigerian government and in a responsible and ethical way."

"Any allegations in these lawsuits to the contrary are simply untrue - they weren't valid when they were first raised years ago and they're not valid today," a company statement said.

Yeah, well, maybe. But here, again, is one of those nagging little things that get me: The company statement says the study was conducted with the full knowledge of the government. But it appears it doesn't say that it was conducted with the knowledge of the patients or their parents.

Apparently, their knowledge or consent was unnecessary. Just like, yes, guinea pigs. Or lab rats.

Footnote: More background on the Nigerian government report that sparked the suits can be found in this article from the Washington Post from a year ago. Note, too, that the French newspaper l'Humanite, in reporting on the suit on May 29, said that Pfizer

had to admit last year that the letter authorizing the trial by the Nigerian hospital had been backdated.

The treatment of lab rats is starting to look good by comparison.