The Nigerian government is suing the pharmaceutical giant for roughly $8.5 billion in damages. It is also pressing criminal charges on the grounds of unethical testing of Trovan, an antibiotic.
Pfizer has responded by filing a petition at Nigeria’s Federal High Court, saying the government’s findings in the report were “illegal and inaccurate and should therefore be quashed.”
The tests were carried out in the northern state of Kano. During the study 100 children with meningitis were treated, and 11 children allegedly died as a result, with permanent health problems being inflicted on many others.
The government has filed four cases at both federal and local levels against Pfizer.
In a company statement, Pfizer said that the writing of the report involved biased government officials, and it had not been allowed to cross-examine witnesses.