Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Supreme Court rejects Pfizer appeal in lawsuits over experiments on Nigerian children - Courant.com

Supreme Court rejects Pfizer appeal in lawsuits over experiments on Nigerian children - Courant.com

The Supreme Court is staying out of a dispute between Nigerian families and Pfizer, Inc., over the drug maker's use of a new antibiotic Trovan on children during a deadly outbreak of meningitis in the mid-1990s.

The justices on Tuesday rejected the pharmaceutical giant's appeal of a court ruling that allowed the lawsuits filed by the Nigerians in U.S. courts to go forward. The families allege that Pfizer violated international law against involuntary medical experimentation when it tested the drug, Trovan. The company failed to get the informed consent of the children or their parents, or to tell them that the drug had not been approved for use in children, the lawsuits say.

1 comment:

scarsarestories said...

Speaking of Pfizer, this morning over breakfast - oh, that reminds me, I have to take the handful of psych meds that I no longer need but am physically addicted to! If I don't, electrical shocks will be running from my head to toes in a few minutes, be right back...

Alright. Anyhow, Pfizer! I picked up an "alternative" newspaper that was being offered for free, and opened it to read the story of a healthy man whose life was destroyed by Celebrex. After being prescribed the drug for minor arthritic pain, he felt a bit better for two weeks - downhill from there. Blood clots galore, the amputation of several toes, and two open heart surgeries later, he is still dying. The heart surgery he now needs (and he's been off Celebrex for a long time now) is so risky that he cannot find a doctor who will perform it.

I had to choke down my breakfast. I have been creeped out by the Celebrex ads on TV for some time - as they do not mention what the pill is for , but merely show happy people running through hills saying things like, "Growing old is wonderful, but you no longer have to age." - and then at the end the Celebrex logo shows up on the screen and that familiar phrase is heard...

"Talk to your doctor!"

...they thus do not have to mention any side-effects. Cialis ads have gone in this direction as well, and who knows what's next.

My life goal is to help bring down big pharma. I'm now a graduate student in the sociology of medicine, and I've lost plenty of friends by questioning their choice to take a certain pill or get a vaccine before doing any research :???:, but I refuse not to practice what I preach.

I think Pfizer is now number one on my shitlist, although Wyeth-Amerst produces the pills (Wellbutrin/Zyban/???) that caused me a grand mal seizure.

Cheers for continuing to provide this crucial information.

Best Wishes,
scars