Trovafloxacin

Trovafloxacin (sold as Trovan® by Pfizer) is a broad spectrum antibiotic that inhibits DNA supercoiling in various bacteria by blocking the activity of DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV . It is not used widely due to the risk of hepatotoxicity. It tends to have better gram-positive bacterial coverage and less gram-negative coverage than the previous fluoroquinolones.

In 1996, during a meningitis epidemic in Kano, Nigeria, the then-untested drug was administered to approximately 100 infected children. A panel of medical experts later implicated Pfizer in the incident, concluding the drug had been administered as part of an illegal clinical trial without authorization from the Nigerian government or consent from the children's parents. The case came to light in December 2000 as the result of an investigation by The Washington Post, and sparked significant public outcry.

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