I was reading an article analysing the Tuskegee Alabama syphilis experiment and its interplay with "Hobson's choice" and how poverty dictates what you get from cruel opportunist. You would think thats where the story ends until i found semblance in the Trovan Kano case.
Thread
Thread
In 1996, there was an outbreak of Meningitis in lots of states in Northern Nigeria at the time with >10,000 deaths. The most serious epidemic of meningitis till date in Nigeria.
Pfizer was looking to test a new drug (Trovan) which had not yet been used on similar cases.
Pfizer was looking to test a new drug (Trovan) which had not yet been used on similar cases.
During this drug development, there where concerns in guinea pigs on its noted side effect. Interestingly at same time, there was already a proven solid therapy for meningitis at the time (Ceftriaxone) and so this drug was meant to probably be a 2nd best or perhaps new best.
So Pfizer travelled down to "help", they gave 100 patients the new drug and 100 patients underdosage of Ceftriaxone. 5 patients in the Trovan arm died while 6 in the underdosed Ceftriaxone arm died. These aside the several hundreds with permanent neurological deficits.
As its always the case, there was a Nigerian investigator doctor employed to be the face of this trial. No proper consent taken from patients or ethical concerns where raised and the anyhowism was in full display.A year later it was found out that the ethical letter was forged.
Pfizer packed its bags and left after 2 weeks of wrecking havoc with no proper completion of its trial or follow up of the patients they "treated". interestingly while this was going on, in the same building,(doctors without borders) where treating patients better and rightly.
After the bubble burst in the US of A, there was legal wrangling for years (i'm not a laywer so i won't dwell much) suffice it to say though that there was a settlement out of court to a tune of $75million in 2009. Pfizer made an initial deposit of $10 million to a board in Kano.
Questions/ Observations
1. Why was Nigeria chosen as the guinea pig to test this? no other developed country had this tested on its people in same scenario. Several crazy experiments like this abound in poor countries with poor non chalant leaders.
1. Why was Nigeria chosen as the guinea pig to test this? no other developed country had this tested on its people in same scenario. Several crazy experiments like this abound in poor countries with poor non chalant leaders.
2. What where the Nigerian health officials thinking? there was no way this would be a success without their active participation.
3. No punishment that i could see was meted out to the doctor who was the face of this, even after acknowledging a forged ethics document.
3. No punishment that i could see was meted out to the doctor who was the face of this, even after acknowledging a forged ethics document.
4. There is always a sellout in any group or gathering, you just need to pay the asking price partly or in full.
End.
End.
