[Email to Kristi Cooper from Don Francis]

give them the money, have them hammer out contracts with industry and
get on with the job of making an AIDS vaccine.
The current system has and could continue to interfere with the making
of an HIV vaccine. Adding another layer may look good on paper. It may
look like the government is doing something. I actually appreciate the
desire of the NIH staff to do something - I think they are well
intentioned. But I do not believe that the current plan will help.
If someone in the government would like to sit down with me (and others
who are in the thick of developing an HIV vaccine) and ask me how the
government could help me develop and AIDS vaccine, I would be happy to
try. Speed is important here - both from the public health and the
pharmaceutical industry vantage points. I don't see this proposal as
speeding the process.
I am sorry for being so negative. I do think the government can help
HIV vaccine development. I just don't see this as the way to go.
Sincerely,
Don Francis

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