The Washington Blade; Friday, March 28, 1997
Viet Dinh
According to the Associated Press, about 250 people marched outside the New York Stock Exchange, demanding that pharmaceutical companies reduce the price of AIDS drugs and broaden AIDS research and treatment.
A New York City Police Department spokesperson said 72 protesters were arrested, most on charges of blocking traffic, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. According to a press release from ACT UP, two protesters were hospitalized after receiving injuries during the arrests, but a police department spokesperson told the Blade that the only injuries reported were minor injuries to a police officer.
The protest in general was peaceful, with protesters performing street theater actions. The New York Times reported that the streets were littered with empty pill bottles, cardboard coffins, and cat-shaped masks that read "Drug Company Fat Cat."
"Our goals are, to a large extent, the same as they were 10 years ago," said Eric Sawyer, a member of ACT UP and one of the protest organizers. "There are more effective treatments, especially for opportunistic infections, but the protease drugs are not a miracle cure. The reality of price gouging is the same as it was 10 years ago, except that, back then, there was only AZT."
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