Pfizer settles Trovan cases; pays $75 million to Nigerian state
31 Jul 2009
US drug-maker Pfizer said it has reached a $75-million final settlement with the Nigerian state of Kano over the 1996 drug trials that were carried out during a triple epidemic of measles, cholera and meningitis.
Under the terms of the deal Pfizer has agreed to establish a healthcare / meningitis trust fund of up to $35 million and underwrite several Kano State healthcare initiatives, totalling $30 million.
Pfizer will also reimburse Kano for $10 million in legal costs associated with the litigation.
The case related to the death of eleven children after taking meningitis drug Trovan, which is also alleged to have caused deformities including blindness, deafness, brain damage and paralysis in 189 others.
The state of Kano had filed civil and criminal suits against Pfizer demanding $2.75 billion in compensation and the prosecution of staff for what it said was an illegal test of Trovan on 200 children.
The company has said all along that the 1996 study was conducted with the approval of the Nigerian government and the consent of the participants' parents or guardians, and was consistent with Nigerian laws.