Conflict of interest in international public health research. Case study. Trovafloxacin study in Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

sing as starting point references to the Kano, Nigeria research study, the paper will analyze the inherent conflict of interests and the necessity of a disclosure policy in conducting international public health research studies on human subjects. According to newspaper reports in both the US and Nigeria, such as the Washington Post investigation, the giant company Pfizer conducted a research study during a meningitis epidemics in Nigeria, without the approval of the relevant regulatory authorities, without an ethics approval or informed consent (Emanuel Ezeome and Christian Simon). The Kano study’s impact is deepened by the context in which the research was conducted and the behavior of the parties, both the drug company, the investigators, physicians and not least, the federal government of Nigeria and the Kano state. Reportedly, the Nigerian ethics review was not proper and there are allegations that a local investigator backdated the certificate (Report of the Investigation Committee on the Clinical Trial of Trovafloxacin) .  Accusations of fraud have been formulated in relation to the letter that was provided through Dr. Dutse. All this parties failed to carry on with their legal and moral attributions, which resulted in inflicting harm and failure to protect the most vulnerable of all subjects: children. The paper will address the ethical questions surrounding the dynamics between researchers and funding agents and correlate them with a potential conflict of interest and the disclosure policy rule.