Legal News

Pfizer?s Friday of Discontent: Two Suits Revived

By Dan Slater

Frozen salaries, freezing weather and fraud cases galore. Many folks are inclined to bid January a not-very-fond farewell.

Pfizer, too, is hoping for better days ahead. Thanks to the Second and Third Circuits, Friday saw two major lawsuits revived against the pharma giant.

Drug testing in Africa: In a case that will remind some of “The Constant Gardener” — a movie that featured the LB’s all-time, hands-down favorite actress — a divided Second Circuit Court of Appeals revived a claim by 88 Nigerian families against Pfizer for allegations that the company surreptitiously tested a new antibiotic called Trovan in a Nigerian hospital during a 1996 meningitis outbreak. Here’s the story from the NYLJ.

In the ruling, the majority and dissent, notes the NYLJ, differed over whether the families’ claims that their children had been subjected to medical experimentation without their consent fell within the Alien Tort Statute, the 1789 law that gives foreigners the right to raise tort claims in federal court to vindicate violations of “the laws of nations.”

In a statement, Pfizer said its 1996 clinical study was conducted with the consent of the children’s parents and “was consistent with both international and Nigerian laws.” Any deaths or injuries were “the direct result of the illness, and not the treatment provided to patients in the Pfizer study,” the company stated.

Milberg’s Peter Safirstein is rep’ing 30 families. Richard Altschuler, of Altschuler & Altschuler, is repping 58 families. Pfizer was repped by Kaye Scholer’s Steven Glickstein, David Klingsberg, Maris Veidemanis, James D. Herschein and Julie B. du Pont.

The truth about Celebrex: Pfizer took a bashing over at the Third Circuit, too. On Friday, the appeals court revived a securities fraud suit brought by investors who claim the company hid the truth about the outcome of a clinical study on possible side effects of Celebrex, an arthritis drug. Here’s the Legal Intelligencer story.

The suit claims that Pharmacia (which has since been acquired by Pfizer) falsely trumpeted the data from the first six months of a study to claim that Celebrex had fewer gastrointestinal side effects than other arthritis drugs, writes the Intelligencer.

Pfizer’s lead lawyer, Cadwalader’s Jonathan Hoff, did not return the Intelligencer’s call seeking comment.

Eric A. Isaacson, Arthur C. Leahy and Matthew P. Montgomery of Coughlin Stoia repped the plaintiffs.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on February 02, 2009 (boomark / email).