According to the BBC, the Nigerian authorities have now issued warrants for the arrest of several Pfizer staffers! Their case against Pfizer, regarding the botched 1996 Trovan trial on meningitis patients, has been preposterously slow. There are several lawsuits pending and all have been adjourned, postponed, delayed etc etc more than twice. This latest twist probably has more to do with intensifying pressure on the much more important–but less talked about–settlement talks, which have been ongoing throughout in London.
The Nigerian authorities aren’t after greater transparency in clinical trials, which would go a long way toward preventing the kinds of violations that occurred in the Trovan trial. They’re dialing for dollars. Can’t blame them, exactly, but it hardly advances the cause.
