496, Westminster Ave

Ottawa Ontario

K2A 2V1 Canada

Tél. : (613) 728-8688

Fax : (613) 728-0687

July 23th, 1999

Dr. A.S. Levin

Law Offices of White Y Meany

3185, Lakeside Drive

Reno Nevada 89509

Re : Harassment of Researchers by Defendants; Breach of Ethics

Dear Dr. Levin :

In response to our recent telephone conversations and your letter on the ethics of physicians engaged in the promotion of commercial products with known adverse effects. I offer the following information. It suggests serious conflicts of interest and ethical anomalies by other professional and organizations. All such events have major implications on the continuing availability of public information on safety and efficacity of commercially promoted medical supplies and technologies.

In Canada, there is evidence of overt unethical acts by defense attorneys and health care professionals. Encroachment and interference with committees deliberations and the publication process by attorneys and commercial promoters are taking place at an alarming level. The reliability of studies by the Institute of Medecine (I.O.M.) and similarly constituted bodies such as the 706 Panel (MDL 926) is therefore questionable. The published peer reviewed literature is alson suspect in the light of recent revelations on manipulation of publications by agents of pharmaceutical firms.

There are more serious implications with respect to claim of safety and efficacy on health care products by any firm with a long standing record of information campering, intimidation and harassment of researchers. The problem even extends to official in government agencies.

The attached publication (Attachment A) in the current issue of Science magazine describe widespread intimidation of authors and government agencies. It cites acts of information suppression by Bristol and others in the context of safety or widely used and medical devices.

Researchers and official agencies are being silenced, through coercion and abuse-of-process in Law. These activities, termed SLAPP, have distorted the literature and are now used to impede research. They consume scarce resources which would otherwise be devoted to sustainable product development and safety studies. They also delay the release of better products at lower costs.

(missing the sheet no.2)