[Email to Donald Kennedy from Bruce Weniger]

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Weniger, Bruce

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Weniger, Bruce
Kennedy, Donald (Stanford)
Background Materials
13 November, 1996 18:37

Dear Donald,
I appreciated talking with you yesterday about the AIDS
vaccine impasse, and how best to influence public policymakers
in overcoming it.
I have spent the last year and a half consulting with
several dozen of the leading vaccine developers and AIDS
scientists worldwide to contribute to my understanding of the
obstacles and what remedies are needed. I have also
accumulated quite a pile of resource and background material
on the subjects dealt with in my draft. Tonight I will fedex you
a sample of the most pertinent of these for your interest and
information.
After redrafting the piece following our discussion, I will
again share it with you. I do hope you will keep an open mind on
whether you could join it. I think it would greatly increase its
credibility and impact.
One of the obstacles to open and evenhanded debate
about the dilemma we are in is that the peer review system puts
those scientists concerned about the current state of affairs at
risk of blackballing as "troublemakers" on their grant
applications if they publically criticize existing efforts. So it falls
upon those of us outside that system to speak up, as you
have so admirably done in your Washington Post piece a
couple of years ago.
Still, there are certain career risks I face, even by
writing such an "emperor-has-no-clothes" piece as a private
citizen, without citing any institutional affiliation in the piece's
attribution. A bit more than halfway through a maximum 30-year
career in the PHS, however, I am willing to take that chance
because of the importance for public health of reducing the
delay until we have a vaccine. I don't think I could maintain
my self-respect if I missed this key opportunity in my lifetime
to influence the course of events in a positive way for a
major public health problem.
Last year the President apparently expressed some
interest in my idea of declaring a national technological goal
of developing a vaccine by a date certain. There was debate
within the White House staff last winter whether he should take
a stronger stand on AIDS vaccine development. But the
advisors opposing the move (from the AIDS and gay liaison
offices) won out over the domestic policy side. Now I hear
that some on the WH economic team are concerned
about the future economic impact and are bringing the
issue back again. I hope this piece gives them the ammunition,
the political support, and -- most importantly -- the blueprint
to do what needs to be done.
Thank you.
Bruce

5571095.0495.093

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