Page 1 - Title Page
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Servce National Institutes of Health VI(INationai Institute o leg and Infectious Diseases Bethesda, Maryland 20892 May 16, 1990 Dear Colleague: The AIDS Clinical Trials Group is a nationwide network of medical centers established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to evaluate promising therapies against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the opportunistic infections and cancers that characterize AIDS. Clinical trials conducted by the ACTG have contributed significantly to the understanding and the treatment of HIV disease. For some time the ACTG has been singled out for intense criticism by the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), an activist organization. We welcome constructive comments and suggestions from all groups; however, ACT UP has widely circulated documents containing a number of allegations and inaccurate information about the policies and accomplishments of the ACTG. A great deal of information is available from the Institute that addresses these concerns and other issues. We have prepared the enclosed package of information to provide you with specific facts about the ACTG as well as the philosophical and scientific principles undergirding the ACTG's research approach. Enclosed you will find: 1. A list of allegations and demands by ACT UP, with responses by NIAID; 2. ACTG Highliehts, including accomplishments, priorities for future research, publications, and discussion of issues of special interest; 3. Three documents (a summary and two detailed Backgrounders) on NIAID's preclinical and clinical research on AIDS-related opportunistic infections. I hope these materials will be helpful to your understanding of the issues. For additional information, please call the NIAID Office of Communications at (301) 496-5717. Sincerely, Anthony S. Fauci, M:. Director National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Enclosures 1111110IIIIIIIIIIII7f l 5571095.0291.017