Pfizer faces $8.5 bln suit over Nigeria drug trial

By Mike Oboh

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - A court case brought by Nigeria against Pfizer resumes on Wednesday with the U.S. drug maker saying it answered a call for help to save the lives of African children during a meningitis epidemic.

Nigeria alleges Pfizer deceived patients and caused the death of 11 children in 1996 when it performed clinical trials for a new drug. With the northern state of Kano, it is suing the company for $8.5 billion.

The meningitis outbreak killed more than 12,000 children in six months near Kano, a predominantly Muslim metropolis with a history of conflict with the West. Meningitis is an infection of the nervous system that can kill in hours if left untreated.

Ngozi Edozien, managing director of Pfizer in West Africa, said the company brought the experimental drug, Trovan, to Nigeria in response to an international plea for help.

"There was a compelling reason to look at Trovan because it was an oral formulation, it was known to have shown efficacy in meningitis and was a five-day treatment so it was perfect for an epidemic setting," she told Reuters.

The test involved 200 children, half of whom received Trovan while the other half received a proven meningitis treatment.

Nigeria alleges Pfizer was responsible for the deaths of 11 children and permanent health problems for many others. It says it failed to obtain all the required approvals for the test and did not get proper consent from the patients.

Pfizer rejects all the charges. It says Trovan saved lives and the alleged victims were affected by meningitis, not the drug.