Harvey Bialy: Politics and War Make for Strange "Bedfellows"

Since Celia Farber arrived in the cyber-offices as a closely associated presence a scant two Gregorian calendar weeks ago, life in those spheres has become generally much more interesting, and even more unpredictable than usual. Por ejemplo, each of her many memos contains a banner from our friend and teacher, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, in ever-changing colors and type that are never reproduced [like many of the HIV/AIDS results reported in Nature and Science over the past 25 years]. Although the calligraphy and color are as unpredictable as the biotech sector of The Market, the text invariably resolves to:

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

Inspired by the incessant neural impacts of these mantric syllables, and the I don't know what to call them goings on here the past days, I set out to undertake a bit of investigative journalism of my own. The story, as I like to say, goes like this:

A few weeks ago, the invisible and everywhere all at once [ubiquitous is a word for that, where I used to work, never mind where] Michael Geiger sent me the URL for a site that has been on the Bulletin Board sidebar ever since as The Real Rogue's Gallery of AIDS. If you have not looked at it previously, you may wish to take a strenuous relaxant before you do. it is not for the faint of heart nor high of blood pressure.

Shortly after I calmed down from a quick scan (I cannot afford to have my own BP raised excessively being no longer young by anyone's calendar), I wrote to the info email fully expecting a comraderly response, and maybe even a revelation as to the "real" identity/s of these deeply insider, knowledgeable, highly, web expert shillfactor.org whistle blowers.

What with one thing and another, I forgot about the matter entirely until the omnipresent Mr. Geiger "posted" (like they say) a comment to a scoop by Elizabeth Ely -- on the almost not to be believed lawsuit filed against Pfizer because Viagra and crystal amphetamines apparently do not go together like rum and Coke -- that stirred my sleepy, slow-conducting cerebral neurons:

"Please also take note that Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, filed suit against Pfizer immediately after Pfizer turned down Weinstein's request for more funding of his pharmaceutically financed AIDS Healthcare Foundation. He intends to make an example of any and every company that turns away from sending him unlimited amounts of money. This practice of harrassment of non funding pharmaceutical companies is one that many AIDS advocating groups, such as Larry Kramer's/Iris Long's ACT-UP New York, Mark Harrington's Treatment Action Group, Martin Delaney's Project Inform, etc, have done for many years. I think the idea is to make the companies pay one way or another. either through law suits and bad publicity, or through polite funding gifts to the AIDS advocates."

When the lightbulb finally lit up a few days ago, I lit off on some closer cyberscopic scrutinty of The Site.

Shillfactor, which contains damning information about AIDS, Inc., looks like another Kramer-esque shakedown operation. The site belongs to a "public education and advocacy organization" called Project Thames, and lists a Michael Barr as its CEO.

Barr once "served as editor of the monthly newsletter of the Treatment Action Group, and as a senior editor of Poz magazine. Two years ago, he "was summoned into the TAG office and fired on the spot," as noted by Michael Petrelis, and on Barr's own weblog.

So now Barr is courageously documenting the nefarious deeds of his former colleagues ... or is he just lobbying for a raise?

Harvey Bialy is the editor of "You Bet Your Life".

Comments

[David Crowe]

Regarding the Mr. Barr of Shillfactor:

At the ProjectThames.org website, which is associated with Shillfactor.net, Barr admits that he has set up not only Shillfactor.net, but also HHIVandHydroxyurea.com, which promotes the toxic drug hydroxyurea:

"Even if you don't get the subtleties of the science, it's easy to grasp HU[hydroxyurea]'s biggest advantage. It works on the cell's machinery, not on the virus-avoiding the problem of drug resistance.

That gives HU exciting potential uses: It could serve as another line of defense for HIVers who've run out of HAART treatment options, sidestep lipodystrophy (by reducing the antivirals HIVers need to take) and steady the immune system during structured treatment interruptions (STIs)."

Perhaps he is angry at Havlir, Richman etc. for documenting adverse events from hydroxyurea.

Maybe Mr. Barr has invested in HU and is upset that his former friends aren't helping to make him rich.

But I guess it's kind of like the police standing by while two gangs kill each other. We can appreciate the irony and applaud the result, although we abhore the bloodshed.

[Otis]

I have been asked more than a few times during the course of today to identify the parts of the alien creature that is shown in the miniature.

The "Gang of Four" is a digital hybridization of Shillfactor, AIDS machas: Gulick, Ho, Havlir & Webb.

I know, it sounds like a law firm.

[Mike Barr]

I just stumbled onto these posts this morning. And please forgive me for not responding to your (Harvey) inquiry in a timely fashion. Project THAMES is very much a part-time operation -- at least for now. As are the websites: shillfactor, hivandhydroxyurea, smartattack, aftertapanddrain.

I, perhaps grandiosely, like to think of myself as something of a whistle blower, having worked or studied closely beside many of the Med Ed and research/regulatory folks I profile. And I no longer work for AHF so, no, I´m not bucking for a raise.

Similarly, hydroxyurea is a 40+ year old drug that, unfortunately, is terribly misunderstood in the realm of HIV/AIDS. Precisely because there is no money to be made on the medication (and because its use --at very safe doses-- may also allow HIVers to take fewer antiretrovirals), useful clinical research that could help to define the optimal use of hydroxyurea is not pursued.

My main criticism of the AIDS research and medical education establishment is that it has grown into a ravenous beast that must be constantly fed. (Mostly activist) colleagues whom I respect counter (A) that there has always been an 'AIDS mafia,' even if the cast of characters has changed a bit since the days of the Gang of Five (Merrigan, Richman, Volberding, Hirsch, Corey) and (B) that alternative avenues of research (e.g., therapeutic vaccines, immune-based therapies) are not being vigorously pursued because there are at present no promising candidates. On these two points I both agree and disagree, but strongly believe that because of the huge commercial biases to preserving the status quo (i.e., early combination ARV treatment for life, complemented by additional medicines in order to treat the unwanted side effects of the AIDS meds), we will be stuck with what we have now unless we can remove the kickbacks and corruption.

If you (David) would like for me to share my (and others´ whom I greatly respect) understanding and criticisms of the ACTG 5025 study, which 'rolled over' ACTG patients from an AZT+3TC+Crixivan study to a regimen of ddI+d4T+Crixivan plus or minus hydroxyurea at 600 mg twice daily (the 'd' drugs in this regimen appear to have been selected primarily for marketing/commercial reasons, as they are both drugs of Bristol-Myers Squibb), I would be more than happy to do so.

Keep up the good work.
Mike