[Email Exchange between Bruce Weniger and Donald Francis]

Weniger, Bruce
From: Weniger, Bruce [CORP/NIPI/bgw2]
Sent: 19-Mar-98 17:04
To: 'Mann, Jonathan (Allegh Univ)'
Subject: FW: FW: PROCAARE: Former GPA head criticizes progress in AIDS
Vaccine Development
Dear Jonathan,
Thought you would like to see what Don Francis
had to say (see below) after seeing the NCIH blurb.
Someone has already commented to the
PROCAARE listserver on the topic. It seems what may
not have come across in your presentation and the
writeup is which vaccines "ready for testing" you were talking
about. Many might think it is about the live attenuated for
which there was much public attention based on the
Intl Assoc. of Physicians in AIDS Care group which
volunteered for a trial (even before such a human
candidate vaccine even exists).
Obviously, you were talking about the Chiron
and Vaxgen products which were turned down in
1994 and about which NIH rarely speaks, even though
new formulations and data have appeared since then.
This is a bit like the crazy Aunt Nellie who lives in the
attic that nobody mentions. You may have to be clearer
that these are the existing products ready for testing,
and that there is no time waiting for the canarypox
boost to be ready in the NIH's now defunct 2-vaccine
"prime-boost" strategy.
Bruce
-Original MessageFrom: Don Francis, M.D. [SMTP:[email protected]]
Sent: 19-Mar-98 13:18 -To: Weniger, Bruce
Subject: Re: FW: PROCAARE: Former GPA head criticizes progress in AIDS Vaccine Development
Bruce:
Jonathan has clearly sounded the alarm! The challenge for you in the
policy arena is to smooth the feathers while keeping the temperature
high. I do not think taking on people in public helps. I DO NOT think
assembling another committee will help. I think an emergency meeting of
those with authority that WILL MAKE DECISIONS RAPIDLY will help. That
means having budgetary power to move funds from basic research to
applied research and development FAST and decisively. In addition, it
means having in place BEFORE the emergency meeting exactly what one
wants the outcome to be. And do it.
That will be a challenge.

Don
1 5571095.0495.101