[Memorandum to Presidential Advisory Council on AIDS Research Committee Members from Margaret I. Johnston]

INTE R1 AIDS
VACCIH "IATIVE
Presidential Advisory Council Conference Call - April 4, 1996
Summary of Comments of Dr. Margaret I. Johnston
Scientific Director, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
The Clinton Administration should seek to fulfill the following three objectives related to [-IV/AIDS
vaccine research and development
1. Objective: Prevention of AIDS, in general, and development of a safe and effective HIV/AIDS
vaccine, specifically, should become one of the highest public health priorities of this Administration.
Background: AIDS is one of the defining issues of our times. Although advances in AIDS
treatment have been considerable, many HI V infected individuals in the U.S. and most in the
developing world will not have access to these expensive therapies. Despite current efforts such as
information and prevention programs, HlIV continues to spread at an alarming rate, and the social,
economic and human costs associated with the worldwide pandemic continue to rise. Other
prevention approaches must be found. Historically, vaccines have proven highly successtul in
controlling the spread of many infectious diseases. The scientific community has made an
unprecedented effort to understand the biology and pathogenesis of HIV. A concerted push is now
needed to accelerate HIV/A IDS vaccine development. This goal can be achieved with the
commitment of the leadershap of our nation, sufficient resources, and involverment of all sectors.
Recommendation: The President should make a public statement that preventing AIDS is a high
p:iority, and that the Administration will take action to accelerate development of a safe and
effective HIVY/AIDS vaccine.
2. Objective: HIV/AIDS vaccine research should be accelerated. The Administration should
improve the utilization of existing HIV/AIDS research dollars, especially at the NIH and specifically
in the area of HIVTAIDS vaccine research.
Background: The Office of AIDS Research (OAR), NiH, has recently completed an external,
comprehensive review of all NIH AIDS research programs. The report recommends increasing
support for vaccine research and assuring that AIDS dollars are spent on research that is truly
related to HIV/AIDS. Making significant changes in the distribution of dollars between areas of
research and between institutes will be politically difficult, given the vocal constituencies that have
come to depend on those research dollars. Drs. Va.mus, Paul and Fauci will need the unwavering
support of the Administration to improve the utilization of AIDS research dollars. In addition, the
OAR report recommended that a committee be established to coordinate all HIV/AIDS research
within the federal government.
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