Pfizer Drug Suit :: essays research papers

Pfizer and the Nigerian Trovan SuitThere has been a controversy about the tasteal testing of the medicate Trovan (trovafloxacin), by Pfizer, a major pharmaceutical company. Pfizer held clinical trials of the drug in Kano, Nigeria, during the 1996 epidemic of bacterial meningitis. The experiments were conducted on 200 children and were said to be successful. Recently, 30 Nigerian families of the children routined in the experiments filed a causal agent against Pfizer claiming they had violated laws by not obtaining permission from the families. (Reliefweb) This lawsuit is unprecedented. I believe Pfizer handled this experiment with good intentions and the press, namely the Washington Post, has below the belt portrayed them.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently restricted the use of the antibiotic, Trovan, after it has been proven to cause liver failure and a low-toned number of deaths when prescribed for many types of infections. Doctors were warned to reserve t he use of Trovan for use only in the treatment of patients who meet very specific requirements. (Branch Law) Although it is harmful when utilize for certain ailments, Pfizer reports that Trovan has proven to be effective in treating meningococcal meningitis. This was determined during the experiments in Nigeria which were supervised by both American and Nigerian doctors. (Pfizer)This experiment took consec position in Africa because of its recurring meningitis epidemic, which kills thousands of people. Pfizer took the opportunity to compare Trovan with ceftrixone, which was the commonly used drug at the time, to prove its effectiveness. One hundred patients were given Trovan and another coulomb ceftrixone. In each group ninety-four percent of patients survived. This mortality rate of 6% for both patient groups was lower than that seen in patients with non-epidemic meningitis (range 6-10%), and lower than the general fatality rate for this particular epidemic (10-30%).(Pfizer) T he incidence of side set up while using Trovan was not any higher than with ceftrixone. Oral Trovan prove to be a very safe, useful and promising treatment for this illness as compared to using other methods, which had to be given intravenously and could spread hepatitis or HIV. Pfizer states that, The trial was designed and conducted in accordance with good medical exam practice and ethical norms. They also said that both the Nigerian Ministry of wellness and a local Nigerian ethics committee approved the experiment and a copy of this was sent to the FDA. Prior to treatment, informed consent was obtained.