There has been wide spread criticism over the refusal of the United States to send the untested Ebola Vaccine to African countries especially Nigeria, Where it was contacted through an American Liberian, Sawyer. There are various factors that mitigate the transfer of these drugs.
The MMAP vaccines that is said to cure Ebola virus is still in the experimental stages in the lab, in fact it has not been tested on human beings prior to the two Americans. Besides there were six of such doses available with three already administered.
Due to ethics governing drug testing and dispensing, it would be wrong for the United State to send the drugs straight forward because its after effect on humans has not been confirmed.
Pfizer/ Nigerian Government issue
The US needs to avoid the repeat the pfizer/ Nigerian Government issue in which a total of 11 children were killed with dozens of others injured during the 200-patient trial, which took place in the middle of a severe meningitis outbreak that affected more than 100,000 people. Five children died after being treated with experimental antibiotic Trovan, with six children dying after taking a comparison drug.
Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical company by sales, has consistently maintained that the Trovan trials were well conducted and deaths were a result of meningitis. It claims researchers travelled to Nigeria during the meningitis outbreak not to gather clinical data, but "with the goal of bringing to that country a life-saving, innovative, less painful and cost effective form of antibiotic". Pfizer said that it has "a long history of commitment to the well-being of the Nigerian people".
However, a Nigerian government report conducted by a panel of Nigerian medical experts and obtained by the Washington Post in 2006 found that Pfizer never obtained authorisation from the government to give Trovan to children and infants. The panel said it was "an illegal trial of an unregistered drug," and a "clear case of exploitation of the ignorant". The report also contradicted Pfizer's claims that its aims in going to Nigeria were philanthropic: Pfizer staff conducted the trial and left while "the epidemic was still raging".
The panel said there were no records showing Pfizer had informed either the children or their parents that they were participating in the trial of an experimental drug. It said that a letter from a Nigerian ethics committee used by Pfizer as evidence of its permission to carry out trials was fabricated and backdated, concluding that the trial broke Nigerian law, the Declaration of Helsinki, which governs medical research, and the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child.
Surely the US won't want to make similar mistake that made pfizer pay a huge compensation to the Nigerian Government.
Alao Moruf Olawale
holawaleh@gmail.com
+2348059597963
No comments:
Post a Comment
post a comment