SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 109 SOUTH OBSERVATORY STREET
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 48109-2029

OFFICE OF THE DEAN

September 13, 1990

Catherine M. Wilfert, M.D.

Professor of Pediatrics and
Microbiology

Duke University Medical Center

Box 2951

Durham, NC 27710

Dear Cathy:

I got your thoughtful letter of August 31 quite belatedly (it
arrived in my office September 11). Thus, I am concerned that
you thought me unresponsive when I saw you Monday at the
Institute of Medicine. For that I certainly apologize.

However, on my return from the IOM meeting, it was waiting for
me and I have read it with care. I am distressed to know that
the report caused you any personal or professional discomfort
since there is no one who enjoys my higher regard or
confidence.

As you can imagine, the Commission with its 12 members of very
diverse backgrounds and interests presents a major challenge
in the context of consensus. For instance, I am quite aware
of the conflict of interest forms you refer to, since I also
have to fill them out. I even went to the trouble to contact
Tony Fauci to be sure they were the same for NIH as for FDA,
since my involvement has been much more the latter. The
initial wording proposed by some of the more agitated
commissioners dealt with that issue in a more accusatory
fashion, and when David Rogers and I were reassuring, the
compromise was to settle for a call for disclosure. It is my
feeling that Tony would be wise to make a strong statement of
the sort you did in your letter. I do not feel it is
necessary for individuals to do so, but both David and I
agreed that with the feelings so high on this subject, some
form of disclosure would be very helpful in clearing the air.

As to the good work of the ACTU, I have no reason to be
concerned other than in the abstract. However, David and
others assure me that some of the units are exceptionally
tedious and slow in their progress and that that comment was
called for.

I hope you will understand that as chairman of the National
Commission on AIDS it is my hope that we can serve a steadily

 
constructive function in moving the response to the epidemic
forward. I hope that is what we achieve with compromises like
the ones I made in the third report. I would be very
distressed if we had the kind of negative effect you
postulated, but I feel fairly sure that our willingness to be
at least somewhat critical is playing a considerably pacifying
role in many important quarters. That is, of course, a
judgment call, and to the extent that the report discomfitted
someone I held in such high regard as you, I do feel sad.

Now that I know you had taken such time to write to me I must
again express my embarrassment at not having received it
before I saw you the other day. I look forward to seeing you
soon again.

With warmest personal regards,

Sincerely,

June E. Osborn, M.D.
Dean

P.S. I have sent your letter to the Commission staff and
asked that they be sure it is distributed to all members
of the Commission when we meet next week in our next
hearings.