Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - January 31, 1997
Marioin Edmunds

THE government is eyeing a direct financial stake in "Aids wonder drug" Virodene to guarantee it a say in its development, production and sales.

Cabinet insiders told the Mail & Guardian this week that it would be better for government to "own" the drug so it could be used cheaply and quickly in state hospitals, rather than to allow pharmaceutical companies to develop it overseas for sale at a high price. The Trade and Industry Department, which offers funding for such projects, received the Virodene dossier this week.

The government's interest in a financial stake may go some way to explain why the discovery of the compound was kept secret until the Cabinet briefing last week. The medical and scientific community have expressed outrage that ministers were briefed on the discovery before it was submitted to the science world for peer review.

When asked if government was considering signing a contract with scientists, President Nelson Mandela's spokesman Parks Mankahlana, said: "The government is awaiting the outcome of the investigation into procdure and ethical questions, and in the event of these being cleared up would wish to give the neccessary encouragement to deserving efforts at combating HIV and Aids."

Mankahlana said it was premature to speculate under what sort of conditions "encouragement" would be given.

Numerous scientific and ethical questions about Virodene remained unanswered this week as medical researchers and analysts battled to explain Cabinet's premature interest in the drug, and the secrecy surrounding the trumpeted breakthrough by Pretoria University scientists, Professor Pieter du Plessis, Olga Visser and Dr Callie Landauer.

Certainly Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma did not consult senior officials in her department. The department's chief director of research Dr Mohammed Jeenah said he had not been consulted.

The head of the department's HIV/Sexually Transmitted Directorate, Rose Smart, was only briefed on the matter this week.

Zuma has gagged her department and the Institute of Virology, and all queries have been directed to her empty office. She is currently in Cuba. Meanwhile, the Virodene dossier has been handed to the Department of Trade and Industry, which is showing an interest in funding further research.

Alan Hirsch, the chief director of industrial and development technology strategy, said it was possible that Cryo- Preservations Technologies would apply for funding through a programme called Support for Industrial Innovation (SPII). He said SPII released funds for product development which would benefit the nation. Under this scheme, funding is given with certain strings attached to ensure its benefits are not lost to the nation.

"It's not so much that government owns the product, but, in the case of Virodene, it would be about making it available cheaply and quickly to state hospitals," he said. "The idea is to develop the product locally.

Government might support the company if the product is proved to be effective, by investing in it, probably through a government investment corporation."

Cryo-Preservation's newly-appointed American public relations officer Larry Heidebrecht said the group had not "at this time" applied for the SPII funding. He said the company had not approached the Medical Research Council for funding as the company was a " private research foundation". He declined to comment on whether the company had signed any contract or agreement with the government.

He said Cryo-Preservation Technologies' four board members were Professor Dirk Du Plessis, Dr Callie Landauer, Olga Visser and her husband Ziggy. According to McGregor Information Services, the company - which owns the Virodene patent - was only registered in the past two weeks.

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