Submitted on: July 4, 1993

           At Berlin Conference for Treatment Advocacy Project

Berlin, Germany (EGCM) The Treatment Advocacy Project (TAP), a group of
community leaders working to enable disenfranchised people with HiV to access
drug therapy, met with major international pharmaceutical companies at the IX
International Conference on AIDS in Berlin. Abbott Laboratories, Bristol-Myers
Squibb Co., Burroughs Wellcome Co., Glaxo, Hoffmann-LaRoche and UpJohn Co.
were among those attending the historic meeting.

The TAP outlined background information and concrete strategies for addressing
this urgent situation.  "We hope to build a relationship with the
pharmaceutical industry to discuss clinical trials and research and to examine
specific characteristics of different HIV-affected communities impacting the
design and delivery of research efforts," said Reggie Williams, Executive
Director of the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention. "This project will
demonstrate which companies are interested in expanding access to people of
color and which are not," said Williams.  "So far, Burroughs Wellcome
committed $250,000 to the project and challenged the others to match."

"Those of us working on the frontlines are convinced government, industry and
the community all have responsibIlity to educate and save lives," said Phill
Wilson, Director of Public Policy at AlDS Project Los Angeles and co-chair of
the TAP.  "Disenfranchised communities have had little or no access to quality
health care and the drug companies have high numbers of potential HIV
treatment consumers.  Reaching these communities is a matter of social
responsibility and economic opportunity."

The TAP recommended a Fellowship Program to train and educate treatment
advocates who can then make recommendations to pharmaceuticals.  Fifty fellows
will initially be trained with an additional 500 being trained later around
the country. -There are many cultural differences that present barriers to
care including gender, class, race and sexual orientation," said Suzie
Rodriguez, co-chair of the TAP.  "The current treatment systems fall short. We
can help to close the gap."

"The meeting went extremely well," said Wilson. "It was the first time any of
these companies doing AlDS drug research have attended a meeting convened by
people of color. We look forward to coming home and continuing our work with
them." Other TAP steering committee members present were Dr. Robert Remien,
New York City.

For more information contact:  Reggie Williams; Gay Men of Color National Task
Force on AIDS Prevention; 631 O'Farrel Street; San Francisco, CA  94109;
415-749-6700 voice; 415-749-6706 fax.

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