American pharmaceutical company Pfizer has reached a 75-million-dollar settlement with Kano State, Nigeria, on Thursday over 1996 drug trials that led to the deaths of 11 children and disabilities in more than a hundred.

Pfizer and Kano State issued a joint statement in Abuja elaborating the terms of the deal, according to a news agency in Nigeria.

"We are pleased to announce that we have reached a final agreement to settle the Trovan litigation between Pfizer and Kano State government," the statement by the two parties said.

"The parties agreed that settlement is in the best interest of both parties as it avoids the cost and distraction of protracted litigation and enables both of us to focus on our core missions and business," it added.

But according to the statement, Pfizer does not admit liability for the havoc the alleged trial of Trovan drug caused in the lives of the young children.

The Kano State government filed civil and criminal suits against Pfizer demanding 2.75 billion dollars in compensation and the prosecution of staff for what it said was an illegal test of the meningitis drug Trovan on 200 children.

The trials were carried out in Kano, the state capital, during 1996 triple epidemic of measles, cholera and meningitis in which more than 12,000 people died.

Eleven children died after taking Trovan, which is also alleged to have caused deformities such as blindness, deafness, brain damage and paralysis in 189 others.

In an earlier statement, Pfizer had denied that Trovan was a dangerous drug, claiming that a clinical study had shown that the drug helped to save lives and was as effective as the best treatment available at Kano’s Infectious Disease Hospital during the meningitis epidemic in that country.

Under the terms of the brokered deal, Pfizer agreed to set up a healthcare/meningitis Trust Fund worth 35 million dollars and finance several healthcare projects in Kano State, which amount to 30 million dollars.

Pfizer will also refund the 10 million dollars the state spent in legal costs associated with the litigation.

"Finally, we are pleased that after several years of litigation, the settlement will bring to an end all the court cases between Kano State and Pfizer," the statement concluded.

However, a case between Nigeria's federal government and Pfizer over the same issue is still pending in court, according to AFP.

Source: Africa News (Kingsley Kobo)