Subject: Merck Never Dodged The Issue of High Risk
Date: Published: 1/22/92 (46 lines)
Source: Wall Street Journal. Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc.

    Letters to the Editor:
    Merck Never Dodged
    The Issue of High Risk

    Your article "Merck Setback Shows Problems of AIDS Drugs"
 will contribute to a better understanding of how the
 high-risk pharmaceutical-research process works.  For every
 10,000 substances examined, 20 enter animal studies and 10
 enter human trials -- but only one becomes a prescription
 medicine.  The fact that resistance has emerged in several
 patients to our leading anti-AIDS compound L-697,661 was
 disappointing but not surprising.  We will now focus research
 on the development of our compound L-696,229, which we will
 evaluate in combination with AZT.  
    Merck has made a long-term commitment, which remains
 unabated, to discover and develop anti-viral agents as
 therapies for AIDS, as well as vaccines to prevent it.  The
 nature of the disease and the public discussions surrounding
 it force pharmaceutical companies such as Merck to talk about
 our research at a much earlier stage of investigation than we
 would normally choose.
    Nevertheless, in all our communications we have tried to
 make it clear that the risks of failure are high.  That is why
 we were surprised and disappointed with the statement in your
 article that we introduced our anti-AIDS compounds to human
 studies 11 months ago "with great fanfare."  The only press
 initiative we have made to date on these compounds was a
 press release issued Dec. 20, 1990.  It began, "In response to
 inquiries Merck today announced that it has entered two
 closely related compounds into very preliminary Phase I human
 studies as potential therapies for AIDS.  "  We went on in the
 brief release to say that "company officials stress that most
 compounds at such an early stage of investigation fail."
    Albert D. Angel
    Vice President
    Public Affairs
    Merck & Co. 
    Rahway, N. J. 

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