Pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. is in trouble over improper drug trials conducted on children in Nigeria.

A US appeals court has revived a lawsuit against the world's largest pharmaceutical.

Around two dozen Nigerian families are plaintiffs in the case and allege their children were injured or even died after the company conducted the trial of a new antibiotic – Trovan -- without fully informing them of the risks.

The trial was carried out during a 1996 meningitis outbreak in Nigeria.

Last year, a US district court dismissed the case on the grounds that the United States was not the appropriate venue for the litigation, which should be heard in Nigeria.

The appeals court, however, overturned that decision and remanded the case back to the district court.

Elaine Kusel, a partner in the New York law firm representing the plaintiffs, Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes and Lerach LLP, told a news agency: "It is important that US companies be held accountable in our courts for their conduct that harms unprotected foreign nationals."

In a statement, Pfizer said it still agreed with the original trial court decision that the United States was not the 'proper forum' for the case. "Pfizer also believes that the claims are without merit and that the company acted in accordance with accepted medical and ethical practises," the statement added.

Agencies