Lawsuit Against Pfizer May Proceed

New York, NY —

A group of Nigerians can proceed with a lawsuit in Manhattan that accuses Pfizer of performing experimental drug tests without consent. WNYC’s Fred Mogul reports.

REPORTER: The Second Circuit Court of Appeals said the allegations, if proved, could represent, quote, "a real threat to international peace and security."

A group of Nigerian families allege Pfizer and the Nigerian government did not get informed consent from patients and guardians to use an experimental antibiotic during a 1996 meningitis epidemic. In 2001, they sued Pfizer, claiming the tests led to the deaths of 11 children and blindness, deafness and brain-damage. That drug, Trovan, was later limited in the US to adult emergency use, and it was banned entirely in Europe.

A federal district court initially dismissed the lawsuit, saying it didn’t meet the criteria of a law called the Alien Tort Statute. Now, a federal appeals court has returned it to the lower court to re-consider whether the cases should be heard in the U.S. or Nigeria.

For WNYC, I’m Fred Mogul