Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
Dr. Fauci opened the Council session by welcoming visitors to the meeting and noting that Drs. Liu, Rao, and Wertz would be absent. He introduced an ad hoc Council member, Dr. Richard Whitley, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Dr. Fauci acknowledged the contributions of four retiring members, Dr. William Bertrand, Ms. Charlotte Collins, Dr. Fred Jones, and Dr. Gerald Mandell, and presented them with plaques.
Consideration of Minutes of Previous Meeting:
The minutes of the May 24, 2004, meeting were considered and approved as written.
Staff and Organizational Changes
Dr. Fauci announced new appointments in the Institute. In the Division of Intramural Research, Dr. Kathryn Zoon joined the Office of the Director and will serve as the deputy director for planning and development and Dr. Steve Holland has been appointed chief of the Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
In the Division of Allergy Immunology and Transplantation, Dr. James McNamara will serve as the chief of the Clinical Immunology Branch.
Dr. Fauci also announced two new appointments in the Office of the Director. Ms. Juli Brown is serving as the acting chief of the Office of Management and New Initiatives and Mr. Arthur Bennett has been appointed special assistant for ethics and conflict of interest.
Budget Update
Until the FY 2005 budget is signed, NIAID is operating under a continuing resolution. In his budget update, Dr. Fauci provided an overview of the amended President’s FY 2005 budget, which includes an NIH increase of $726,000,000 or 2.6 percent compared to FY 2004.
NIAID's FY 2005 increase of $137,000,000 or 3.2 percent includes $100,000,000 for the Global Fund and $14,500,000 for the extramural virtual Vaccine Research Center. The amended President’s budget provides for an aggregate average cost increase of 1.3 percent for research project grants, retains training stipends at the 2004 level, and adds $14,500,000 to establish the extramural virtual Vaccine Research Center.
Legislative Update
Dr. Fauci reported that there continues to be considerable congressional interest in our Institute activities. This is not unexpected since our budget is over $4.3 billion and Congress is planning to draft an NIH reauthorization bill within the next year.
As reported at the last Council meeting, the Senate passed its version of the Project BioShield Act of 2004. The House took up and passed the Senate version on July 14, 2004. The President signed into law the Project BioShield Act of 2004 on July 21, 2004. The Institute put a considerable amount of time and effort into this.
Dr. Fauci has provided congressional testimony or briefings on various topics, including NIH priority setting and biodefense. Dr. Mary Wright represented NIAID at the briefing on the new facilities at the National Interagency Biodefense Campus at Fort Detrick.
Other Information Items
Dr. Fauci gave an overview of some important issues that took place at the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, July 11-16, 2004. One issue at the forefront was a serious misunderstanding of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Through the PEPFAR program, the U.S. buys and distributes drugs in 15 countries with the goal of treating two million people over five years and preventing seven million infections. The concern is that the drugs are being made outside the FDA approval process and the U.S. cannot, in good conscience, buy drugs without knowing whether they are safe or effective. A proposal was put forward to set up a rapid process for evaluating and approving these drugs allowing companies to get provisional FDA approval with six to eight weeks. It is still under discussion.
Considerable attention is being given to the need for a global HIV vaccine enterprise, an idea that originated over a year ago. Dr. Fauci explained that the global HIV vaccine enterprise would be a virtual consortium of independent organizations committed to accelerating the development of a preventive vaccine for HIV. The partners would advance HIV vaccine research through the implementation of a shared strategic scientific plan. Hopefully, this would mobilize additional resources and promote greater collaboration among HIV vaccine researchers worldwide. A steering committee and working groups were formed. The reports of the working groups are being consolidated and another meeting is scheduled for October 2004. The global HIV vaccine enterprise was endorsed at the G8 summit in June 2004. Along with this endorsement the President announced plans to establish a second HIV vaccine research and development center.
Another vital area receiving high visibility is the reemergence of the bird flu in a number of Asian countries. DHHS has prepared a pandemic influenza response and preparedness plan. The Institute played a major role in communicating how NIAID and NIH will be an important part of this pandemic plan.
Dr. Fauci addressed the need to continue our research program on West Nile virus. He also focused on a publication from the Infectious Diseases Society of America entitled “Bad Bugs, No Drugs.” The publication was an analysis of the precarious situation regarding the pipeline for new antibiotics, particularly antibiotics for multiple drug-resistant microbes. Dr. Fauci stressed the importance of working with industry on this problem.
DMID along with some other groups held a very productive NIAID summit that looked at the issue of stimulating interest in the development of anti-infective drugs. The summit brought together participants from government, industry, and various associations.
Dr. Fauci provided updates on progress that is being made in the areas of asthma, organ transplantation, and biodefense.
back to top