Pfizer Demands DNA of Trovan Victims Who Are Owed Compensation

(MoneyWatch)  Victims covered by Pfizer's $75 million settlement of the Trovan meningitis case in Nigeria must produce DNA tests before they will receive their part of the payout, according to This Day, an African news web site.

The news comes after it emerged that Nigerian officials had lost the list of those affected by the disasterous drug trial. Pfizer has its own list of the victims, but Nigerian officials don't want to rely on it.

An official involved in administering the money, retired Supreme Court justice Abubakar Wali, said:

"...all the victims must undergo DNA test to ensure that the genuine victims benefit from the settlement."

Back story: The case stems from tests Pfizer did in 1996 during a meningitis outbreak in the African nation. Eleven children died. Trovan's use was restricted in the U.S. and banned in Europe. The events may have inspired the book and movie, The Constant Gardener. Admin costs for distributing the compensation have already been estimated at $4.5 million to $5 million. About $30 million will go to the children affected by the trial. Now, according to This Day, even victims who present DNA tests indicating they are on the list of victims may have to wait until 2011 for their money.

• See previous BNET stories on the Pfizer Trovan case:
• List of Pfizer's Trovan Victims Has Been Lost, Nigerian Officials Say
• UPDATED: Pfizer Settles Trovan Case for $75M; Nigerian Kleptocrats to Get $40M
• Pfizer's Trovan Settlement Demands Irk Nigerian Kleptocrats
• Pfizer Settlement in Trovan Case Interrupted by Judge Who Wants Fairness Hearing
• Pfizer's Flip-Flop on the Trovan Settlement
• Pfizer Close to Settling Trovan Case in Nigeria? Perhaps Not
• Claim: LeCarre's "The Constant Gardener" Was Based on Pfizer Trovan Case