U.S. Supreme Court rejects Pfizer’s appeal of Nigerian drug case
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of Pfizer Inc., allowing Nigerian families to proceed with their lawsuit against the pharmaceutical giant for testing an experimental antibiotic on their children.
Pfizer conducted clinical trials of the drug Trovan in Nigeria 1996, during a meningitis epidemic. The lawsuit alleges that the drug caused deaths and serious injuries in some of the children, and that Pfizer violated international law by failing to obtain adequate consent from the patients and their families. Pfizer countered that the company received consent from the Nigerian government and did not violate Nigerian or international law. The lawsuit was initially tossed by the trial court on the basis that the claims should be brought in Nigeria, but on appeal, the families won the right to proceed with their lawsuit. Pfizer appealed to the supreme court, arguing that the appellate decision improperly expanded the jurisdiction of the Alien Tort Statute.
