Pfizer being investigated for using children as guinea pigsThe state government alleges Pfizer selected children and infants from crowds at a makeshift epidemic camp and gave about half of the group Trovan, which it says was untested at the time.
If this is true it validates every suspicion that people have about big pharmaceutical companies. Profits come before safety or ethics.
The Washington Post newspaper in the United States said it obtained internal Pfizer records that showed five children died after being treated with Trovan. However, "there is no indication in the documents that the drug was responsible for the deaths. Six children died while taking the comparison drug," the paper said.
Clinical trials are necessary for all drugs and I support that process. Using an unapproved drug on children in a poor country is a disgrace. If this allegation is true those involved should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of Nigerian law.
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