Subject: U. S., French Scientists Seek to End Dispute Over Discovery of Virus
Date: Published: 3/10/87 81 lines
Source:  Wall Street Journal.  Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc. 

   U. S. and French Scientists Seek to End
   Dispute Over Discovery of AIDS Virus
    ---
   By Marilyn Chase
   Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

   American and French scientists apparently are headed for a
truce in their bitter dispute over discovery of the AIDS
virus.
   Simultaneous news releases from Washington and Paris said
lawyers representing the National Institutes of Health and
France's Pasteur Institute are seeking a settlement to the
15-month-old lawsuit, in which the French claimed credit for
the discovery and sought a share of royalties from sales of
blood test kits for acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
   A spokesman for the U. S. Department of Health and Human
Services said in Washington yesterday that there was some
speculation that a settlement could be reached within a
month.  Both sides in the dispute said that any such
settlement would recognize "the important contributions" of
each, without "providing either party with an advantage over
the other party."
   The long-smoldering dispute brought issues of scientific
credit and personal and national prestige into the courtroom
when the Pasteur Institute filed a lawsuit in the U. S. Court
of Claims in Washington in December 1985.  The suit charged
that Robert C. Gallo, an NIH scientist, committed a "breach
of contract" by allegedly basing his publications and patent
on research and virus samples of Pasteur scientist Luc
Montagnier.  Dr. Gallo has denied the charge.  Dr. Gallo's
virus, HTLV-3, and Dr. Montagnier's virus, LAV, are
practically identical.
   The claims court last July dismissed the suit on technical
grounds related to the form of the complaint, but the Pasteur
Institute appealed.  Yesterday in Washington, according to
sources from both sides, a U. S. appeals court overturned the
dismissal and sent the case back to the claims court for a
hearing on the issues.  The appeals-court decision couldn't
immediately be confirmed.
   Sources close to the Pasteur Institute said yesterday's
court development, which took place after the joint
announcement, doesn't affect efforts to seek a settlement.
   The dispute has been viewed by many scientists -- 
including the principal disputants -- as an unseemly theater
of ego in the midst of a fatal epidemic.  It has diverted much
of the scientists' time, inhibited scientific exchange, and
spawned a spate of lurid, tabloid-style news coverage.
   There was speculation in Paris by Agence France-Presse and
others that a settlement probably would involve a sharing of
5% royalties now received by the U. S. Treasury on sales of
the antibody test kits.  However, a Health and Human Services
spokesman said:  "I have no idea (about a sharing of
royalties).  We have no interpretation."
   "Things are definitely going in the right direction," Dr. 
Gallo said in an interview.  He declined to elaborate, saying
he didn't want to say anything that could upset negotiations.
   In Paris, Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, a colleague of Dr. 
Montagnier, said she wasn't a party to the agreement and
hadn't any opinion of it.  A spokeswoman for the Pasteur
Institute didn't return calls.
   Separately, the U. S. Patent Office granted Dr. Gallo and
co-worker Mikulas Popovic a patent covering their method of
mass-producing the virus for research purposes.  The method
was critical to AIDS research because it afforded scientists
a sufficient quantity of the virus to study.
   Prior to development of the production method, scientists
had been frustrated by the virus's habit of killing off
target cells and then disappearing in the test tube.  "We're
very glad to get the patent," Dr. Gallo said.  "Nevertheless,
we hope our institution and Pasteur Institute can reach an
amicable settlement."

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