Global Drug Testing May Influence Pfizer Liability in Depo-Provera MDL

Pfizer is the manufacturer of Depo-Provera, the drug at the center of multi-district litigation concerning the development of intracranial meningiomas. The video  discusses Pfizer’s role in the scandal surrounding the testing of Trovan in Nigeria. It is alleged that Pfizer administered Trovan to children in Nigeria, without proper consent, causing preventable injuries and deaths in the testing population.

Depo-Provera was also used and tested extensively in the developing world for decades before its approval for contraceptive use in the United States. Initially, Upjohn's application for approval was denied because there was a link drawn to cancer in testing animals. In impoverished villages and refugee camps, the drug was promoted as a long-acting contraceptive that would benefit women with limited access to healthcare. As of 1981, the drug had been widely used for fifteen years.

Jeffrey Carey is representing multiple women who have developed brain (intracranial) meningiomas after decades of Depo-Provera use. This article and the ones to follow are going to examine the historical development, testing, and long range monitoring by Pfizer to determine when they reasonably should have known that their drug was causing brain tumors and cancer. Currently, he is reviewing documents at the Smith College Repository, "Depo Provera Project" that show the scope of this issue. It should be emphasized, as the Court has imposed a confidentiality order preventing public disclosure of documents disclosed by Pfizer in this litigation, that no portion of this post or any future post will rely on any documents produced in discovery in the case. We can and should debate whether the public should know about any malfeasance uncovered in the litigation but that ruling is binding at this time and will be respected.

https://www.flnd.uscourts.gov/pretrial-order-no-11

It will be very important to determine when Pfizer knew or should have known about the connection between Depo Provera and meningiomas. A close examination of the historical record, where Pfizer has used the third world as a laboratory, may hold the key to proving such culpability decades before it was publicly acknowledged.