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Thursday, October 4, 2007

News Feed: Nigeria readies for Pfizer battle

THIS you have to read.

It's disgusting - intellectually, physically and ethically.

It's about an American drug (ok, pharmaceutical) company who went in and tested their drug on poverty-stricken African children, who are now mentally disabled as a result, or so say their mothers. Within the article, there is no "other side to the story" because the drug company did not wish to speak to Al Jazeera, so forgive me for being biased.

But still. It's great that people are protesting against animal testing, but what about testing on humans?? Is there too much money at stake??

Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege speaks to residents of Kano in Nigeria who claim a vaccine, manufactured and adminstered by US pharmaceutical giant Prizer, was responsible for the deaths of local children, as hearings resume in a Nigerian lawsuit against the firm.


Photo: Firdausi became mentally handicapped, her mother
claims, after she was used to test a meningitis drug

Thirteen-year-old Firdausi Abdullahi is severely mentally handicapped, suffering from a condition her mother claims is a result of scientific negligence.

Zainab Abdullahi says Firdausi was used along with 200 other children as "guinea pigs" to test a meningitis drug.

That is the central allegation in a criminal case pitting the state government of Kano in Nigeria against the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer.

Hearings resume in the case on Wednesday with the government alleging Pfizer deceived patients and caused the deaths of 11 of them in 1996 when performing clinical trials for a new meningitis vaccine, Trovan.

Full article at Al Jazeera

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