DRUG TESTING

The World of Consumerism

SPEAKING
Discuss with your partner the following topic. Take notes.
Companies need to test their products. How do you think they do that?

READING
Read the following text very carefully. Do the tasks that follow.
ANGER AT DEADLY NIGERIAN DRUG TRIALS

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15

20

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A group of Nigerian families sued 1 the drugs giant Pfizer following the
deaths of 11 children and injury to others who are said to have taken part in
tests of a drug to treat meningitis. The group argues that the tests of Trovan,
an antibiotic, were the cause of the deaths and injuries. Pfizer denied the
accusation. In a statement, the drugs company said it was proud of the way
the study was conducted.
Pfizer tested the experimental antibiotic Trovan in Kano, Nigeria, during
the 1996 epidemics of bacterial meningitis which had affected thousands of
children. More than 15,000 people died during the epidemics. Officials in
Nigeria say more than 50 children died in the experiment, while many others
developed mental and physical deformities. But
Pfizer says only 11 of the 200 children used in
the drug trial2 died. They add that the clinical
evidence points to the deaths during the study
being the direct result of meningitis and not
the treatment provided during the study. They
say they always acted in the best interest of the
children involved, using the best medical
Pfizer tested TROVAN in Nigeria in 1996.
knowledge and practices available.
Following pressure from rights groups and
families affected by the trial, the Nigerian
government set up an expert medical panel to
review the drug trial. The experiment was an illegal
trial of an unregistered drug, the Nigerian panel
concluded, and a clear case of exploitation of the Hajara survived the trials but cannot now hear or speak
ignorant. Families also accuse the drug company of
not informing them of the experiment. Parents did
not give their consent.

The Nigerians accuse Pfizer representatives of travelling to Kano to test

30 the experimental drug in the impoverished region of Nigeria. But rather than
making the trip to provide humanitarian relief, 3 as charitable organisations
were doing, Pfizer hurried to Kano to exploit the misfortune there for its own
benefit, they claim. The drug was given in a form never before tested on
humans and which was known to have life-threatening side effects. Pfizer is
35 also accused of deliberately not telling parents they were free to refuse the
drug and instead choose an internationally approved treatment for meningitis
being offered at the same site free of charge by a charitable medical group.
The company has denied these accusations and stressed the Trovan trial
was not an attempt to gather clinical data, but an effort to help sick children in
a poor region of Nigeria. The trial helped save lives, Pfizer said. Pfizer
denies any wrongdoing and reiterates its position that its trial of Trovan was
conducted in accordance with Nigerian regulations.
After more than a decade of silence, the Nigerian government has
decided to sue Pfizer, seeking seven billion dollars in damages for the families
of children who allegedly died or suffered side-effects in the experiment.
Abridged and adapted from BBC News, June 2007.

VOCABULARY:

1. sued: subjected to a lawsuit

in court

2.
drug
experiment

trial:

drug

3. relief: help

A. Find out in the text what the underlined words refer to.
1. which

6.) 4. they

(l.

_____________________________
2. others

26)

_____________________________
7) 5. its (l. 31) ______________________________

(l.

6. who

_____________________________
3. their

(l.

(l.

20)

(l.

34)

_____________________________

______________________________
B. Find in paragraphs 4 and 5 words/expressions meaning the same as the following.
1. give __________________________________

4. reject ________________________________

2. disaster _______________________________ 5.
3. intentionally

information
___________________________

____________________________

6. illegal

behaviour

_________________________
C. Complete the table with information from the text.
DRUG TRIALS

Location of
trials

Disease
treated

Date of trials

Number of
patients
tested

Company
name

Official
number of
deaths

Drug

Alleged
number of
deaths

(name &

type)

D. Find evidence in the text for the following statements.

1. Nigerians believed the drug killed and injured their children.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Pfizer was satisfied with the study.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. The drug company claimed what killed and injured the children was meningitis.

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. Pfizer took advantage of a humanitarian crisis.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
5. Parents werent informed they could have chosen a different drug to treat their
children.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

E. Answer the following questions about the text.

1. What were the consequences of the Trovan treatment on the Nigerian children?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. According to the companys statements, why did the go to Nigeria?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. In your opinion, is this kind of testing acceptable? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

L A N G UA G E
WORK
A. Build nouns from the roots in brackets by adding suffixes, in order to complete the
sentences.
1. The ____________________ of drugs is important for scientific advances. ( DEVELOP)
2. Oxfam is an ____________________ that watches many companies product testing.
(ORGANISE)
3. Working with new products and people requires a lot of ____________________.
(RESPONSIBLE)
4. Pfizer had denied every ____________________ against them in this matter.
(ARGUE)
5. The Nigerian government ordered a thorough ____________________.
(INVESTIGATE)

B. Rewrite the following sentences, as suggested below.

below.
1. A group of Nigerian families sued the drugs giant Pfizer.
The
drugs

________________________________________________________________________
2. Drug companies need to be more responsible. Innocent people die from
dangerous side effects.

If
drug
companies
were
_____________________________________________________________
3. The Nigerian government set up an expert medical panel to review the drug
trial.
An
expert
medical
_________________________________________________________________
4. People should present a united front against drug testing, and then companies
would stop using them.
If
people
presented
_________________________________________________________________
5. The Nigerians accuse Pfizer representatives of testing the experimental drug in
their country.
Pfizer
representatives
_______________________________________________________________
6. Check the Oxfam website and you will learn more about drug testing in Africa.
If
you
check
______________________________________________________________________