This reads like a scene out of a movie.
Pfizer has been accused of conducting improper drugs trials on children. About 200 kids in Nigeria's north-western Kano State took part in trials for an anti-meningitis drug in 1996. Officials in Kano say more than 50 children died in the experiment, while many others developed mental and physical deformities. Pfizer says only 11 of the 200 children in the drug trial died. The Nigerian government's expert medical panel concluded that the experiment was "an illegal trial of an unregistered drug" and a "clear case of exploitation of the ignorant". (The original articl can be found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6241322.stm)
Its pretty twisted when a global pharmaceutical firm does this kind of stuff. Aren't these folks supposed to be about protecting life, not destroying it? Are Pfizer shareholders really that greedy that they would be willing to look the other way to justify an additional couple of percentage points growth? This devaluing of life is sickening to witness. With all the advances in technology, medicine, and living standards, are we really moving forward? Or are we giving up our humanity with each new scientific achievement?
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