Trial deaths spur criminal charges against Pfizer

Nigerian officials have filed criminal charges against Pfizer along with a $2 billion civil suit as it pursues claims that one of the drug giant's clinical trials killed several children a decade ago. According to the government charges, researchers picked out 200 children from an epidemic camp for meningitis victims and gave half of them an untested antibiotic named Trovan and the other half dangerously low doses of a similar antibiotic made by Hoffman-Laroche. Several children died and others were left blind, paralyzed, deaf and brain-damaged. According to documents obtained by The Washington Post, 5 children taking Trovan died while 6 children taking the competing drug died. There was no direct evidence that the children were killed by the drugs. Pfizer denied any wrongdoing and said that deaths from meningitis are common.

- here's the report on the charges from The Age

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