Pfizer to go bankrupt?

Meningitis: FG sues Pfizer $700bn * Over deaths of 200 children in 1996
By Ise-Oluwa IgePosted to the Web: Tuesday, June 05, 2007

ABUJA—The Federal Government has sued the world largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, before a Federal high court sitting in Abuja for allegedly maiming or and killing in 1996, not fewer than 200 children afflicted in Kano state by bacterial meningitis through alleged illegal experimentation of its products, Trovafloxacin Mesylate, (Trovan) on them.

The government is asking the court to award $700billion damages against the pharmaceutical firm.If the damages is awarded, it is capable of closing down the operation of the pharmaceutical firm.In the writ of summons filed at the registry of the high court, nine other persons including the medical personnel that allegedly administered the Trovan on the victims for the purpose of testing the potency of the drug, were named as co-defendants.

They include Pfizer Nigeria Limited, William Steere, Samuel Ohanbuwa, A Dogunro, Isa Dutse, Scott Hopkin, Mike Dunne, Debra Williams and Robert Buhl.But the management of the Pfizer International Incorporated has served a notice through its counsel, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) that it would challenge the competence of the entire case and collapse the claim by the Federal Government.

Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) who appeared personally in the case yesterday also requested for an accelerated hearing of the case.He particularly said in court yesterday that the damages being sought by the Federal Government was more than its annual budget and that it should not have any problem with the accelerated hearing of the case so that it could claim the sought damages.
The trial high court judge, Justice Babs Kuewumi hearing the case has granted the request for accelerated hearing of the suit and has ordered the government to furnish the firm. all relevant papers in the matter.

The matter is scheduled for mention on June 26, this year while full blown trial kicks off in July. The background of the case as captured by the statement of claim filed by the Federal Government was that on or about the month of April 1996, there was an epidemic of bacterial meningitis, measles and cholera in parts of Northern Nigeria particularly Kano State and some of the victims and/or patients were receiving medical attention at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) through the joint efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Kano State Government of Nigeria.

The joint efforts of the Federal Government and the Kano State Government to combat and contain the epidemic were complemented by the humanitarian assistance and supplies donated by Non- governmental Organizations including Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian relief organization also known as “Doctors Without Borders”.
The epidemic was extremely ravaging and as such there was a limitation of space and resources which limitation led to MSF setting up its tent on the grounds of the IDH from where it attended to the patients and/or victims.

The Federal Government contends that in the midst of the epidemic, Pfizer, acting by itself and through its agents, devised a scheme under which it misrepresented, concealed and failed to disclose its primary motive in seeking to participate in giving care to the victims of the epidemic in Kano .