Nigerians Sue Pfizer Over ’96 Drug Trial

Pfizer Inc. was sued by the families of 30 Nigerian children who contend that a 1996 meningitis drug trial conducted by the drug maker was so risky that it violated international law. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, says Pfizer exploited a deadly meningitis outbreak that killed more than 16,000 people in Nigeria to conduct a test of its antibiotic Trovan.

About 200 children took part in the test, and some were treated without the consent of their parents, the complaint says. Eleven children in the test died; seven of those are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

A spokesman for New York-based Pfizer did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The company issued a statement in December 2000 after a series of articles about the tests ran in the Washington Post.

“The Nigerian trovafloxacin trial was an important clinical investigation and Pfizer is proud of the way the trial was conducted, in the midst of a deadly meningococcal meningitis epidemic among Nigerian children,” Pfizer said in the prepared statement.

Pfizer stock fell 55 cents to close at $39.60 on the New York Stock Exchange.