Petrelis Files

David Corcoran
Science Desk
New York Times

Dear Mr. Corcoran:

In a Feb. 14 AIDS article by Dr. Lawrence K. Altman, the paper reported the following:

"Laboratory tests in Dr. Ho's laboratory and elsewhere have shown that the strain from the man whose case started the investigation is resistant to 19 of the 20 licensed anti-retroviral drugs."

The Times also said:

"The second virus is from an unidentified patient in San Diego who was apparently infected before the New York City man. It was found by scouring the records of a commercial laboratory, ViroLogic Inc. of South San Francisco, and portions of its genetic makeup closely resemble the molecular pattern of the New York City man's virus, Dr. Ho said.
"Dr. Ho's team sent the partner's virus to ViroLogic for testing. Doctors from around the country send thousands of H.I.V. specimens to the company for testing." (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/14/health/14aids.html?pagewanted=1)

The Times failed to mention that AIDS expert David Ho, MD, sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of the ViroLogic company; a fact that should have been reported by Altman.

I believe it is a conflict of interest for Ho to cite ViroLogic as an entity without informing Times readers of his connection to the biomedical firm.

All one need do to verify Ho's scientific relationship with ViroLogic is visit their web site to find this information posted there:

http://www.virologic.com/520.asp?show=520#David

"The scientific advisory board at ViroLogic is made up of renowned leaders in the field of HIV. Based on their diverse qualifications, each of these individuals provides unique perspectives in the challenges and trends in the management of HIV. To learn more about the scientific advisory board, click on their names.


Stephen P. Goff, Ph.D.
Stephen H. Hughes, Ph.D.
David D. Ho, M.D.
Douglas D. Richman, M.D.
Robert T. Schooley, M.D.

"David D. Ho, M.D., is the Scientific Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York and a Professor at The Rockefeller University. Dr. Ho received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ho is world renowned for his pioneering studies on the dynamics of HIV infection and its effects upon the human immune system, and is an expert on antiviral drug therapy for HIV."

Furthermore, Dr. Ho's brother, Mr. Sidney Ho, is director of communications for ViroLogic. You can confirm this by calling Sidney Ho at 650-635-1100, Ext. 7406, or via email at sho@virologic.com

I believe the Times owes readers an editor's note explaining Ho's connection to ViroLogic, including the fact his brother is a top executive at the company.

Sincerely,
Michael Petrelis
San Francisco, CA