Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, International Issues Subcommittee [Transcript]

23
1 wish that the government would stop saying negative things
2 about their proposals and get out of the way.
3 So there are places in the developing world
4 where the vaccine could be tested ethically, and as the
5 recent controversy around AZT and the use of AZT and
6 placebo in pregnancy and so forth has revealed, developing
7 countries, obviously -- this was obvious before AIDS --
8 developing countries are actually quite capable, thank you,
9 of figuring out whether something is ethical or not for
10 them, where they are.
11 RABBI EDELHEIT: They're developing, not
12 primitive.
13 DR. MANN: So this idea that it can't be done
14 there, we can't do it there but collaboratively field
15 trials could begin actually rather rapidly if the President
16 were to issue -- if there were to be a champion. I'm not
17 sure if the President himself would say exactly which
18 candidate vaccine should proceed. But if there were a
19 champion, the progress on this would be rapid in vaccine
20 terms, which still means years before we'd have an answer.
21 MR. FOGEL: I'm not sure I understood what you
22 meant about the AZT trials abroad.
23 DR. MANN: There were eight trials of --
24 MR. FOGEL: I know what they are, but I think
25 you were saying that those countries are capable of making
26 a decision whether it is or isn't, was or wasn't ethical.

FREILICHER & ASSOCIATES. COURT REPORTERS
[phone]