But the Washington Post, which has been investigating the drug trial, has alleged that at least one child was not taken off the experimental drug and given the tried and tested treatment when it was clear that her condition was not improving, flouting the ethical rules of clinical trials. Doubts about the letter, which was taken as proof to the US food and drug administration that the trial had been ethically carried out, was intensified by statements from two other Nigerian doctors. It only organised one, and created the letterhead stationery that was used on the letter, months later. Dr Idris Mohammed said he had challenged the correctness of the Pfizer project at the time. The latest revelations are hugely embarrassing to Pfizer, which insists there was a philanthropic element to the trial.
Science governs our decisions.
The experimental drug used, Trovan, has since been licensed, but not for children. However, it is not marketed in Nigeria. Like all new drugs, which have a 20-year patent protection, the cost is too high for developing countries.