United Press International; Thursday July 2 2:27 PM EDT

Members of two activist groups occupied a booth set up by the Schering-Plough company and spray-painted slogans. They also wrapped the booth in yellow tape to simulate a cage and sat inside for several hours.

A day earlier, activists knocked over booths and chairs, scattered pamphlets, spray-painted displays and unplugged computers at the exhibit of Merck and Co., of New Jersey.

None of the staff at the booths opposed the demonstrators, who wore black T-shirts emblazoned with the name of Act-Up, a militant AIDS activist group. Some of the demonstrators were members of an Australian AIDS and drug users group.

Conference officials said the noisy protests _ which disrupted the exhibits floor _ were actually less dramatic than at previous World AIDS conferences. "We saw very little and then we've seen a short burst of it,' said Robin Gorna, who chaired the community planning committee for the conference. But she said activists had not disrupted scientific or other sessions, as was the case at other meetings.

"Previously, activists felt they had to demonstrate to make themselves heard," said Gorna, herself a long-time AIDS activist. But now, "things are coming along in terms of dialogue."

The Schering-Plough demonstration was aimed at the company's Subutex, which is a heroin substitute like methadone. The activists claimed the company has been lax in performing safety studies and in warning users of possible dangerous interactions with other drugs.

A company spokesman wasn't available for comment.

Merck makes Crixivan, one of the most popular anti-AIDS drugs, but the demonstrators accused the company of refusing to lower its price so people in the developing world can use it.

In a statement, the demonstrators said Merck is the only big drug company that has refused to be involved with the joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) pilot program on cutting prices in the developing world.

"Merck should have no part in a conference entitled, 'Bridging theGap,"' the statement said.

Merck spokesman Linda Distlerath said the company is "committed to trying to address HIV/AIDS epidemic in the developing world."

But she said simply making powerful drugs available at a low price especially in countries where other medical care is unavailable or inadequate _ might make the epidemic worse by encouraging drug resistance.

Even in the developed world, patients find it hard to follow the demanding medication regimes that modern therapies require. Failure to follow the drug regimes is considered a major cause of the development of drug resistance. Distlerath said she could not estimate how much damage had been done and added the company would not ask police to investigate. "We'll just pick things up and go on," she said.

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