Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ...

462Mr. Besteman. The man on my staff who is a pharmacologist hasbeen scheduled twice to meet \\dth Dr. Revici and the FDA in theParklawn building and two meetings have been canceled. We haveasked for written material and we have pursued it from our side.It is a matter of waiting for the data to come to us but we are in theposition that if the claims are substantiated, tliis is something wecannot ignore and we have actively gone after the data. We do nothave it.I understand there has been some illness involved and this has beenone of the problems.Mr. Steiger. Doctor, are you aware that we had testimony herefrom two physicians who have used tliis?Mr. Besteman. Yes.Mr. Steiger. Would not their experience be of some value to jouin evaluating this?Mr. Besteman. Yes, it would be; but we have to start even morebasically than that because they are talking about the drug and onceyou start at that level and Avork forward — 3'ou do not start from testimonialsand work backward. There are many things that chnicians,and I have been one, believe in.Mr. Steiger. Oh, I know.]\lr. Besteman. And they even work because I believe in them andI get the people who work with me to believe in them and we areboth happier, but then the next fellow down the block cannot do that,and this information from the clinical setting alone is not enough.Dr. Brown. What we are saying is we have pursued and madeourselves available and I think Commissioner Edwards said the samething. We are ready, willing, and aware.Mr. Steiger. OK. I A\ill just explain this to you, then. We are wellaware that Dr. Revici is not the conventional physician, scientist,et cetera. Fine. And what he has may or may not be of value. Buton the other hand, while it has not been trietl on the rats and mice,there are 1,700 people who have taken it and they are fine, or betterthan they were.It seems to me that we have an obhgation here that you have got$17,700,000 to spend and you are the people—it seems to me that youhave to be more aggressive than simph^ establishing an appointmentthat the guy does not keep and then if he does not keep it, ergo, yourresponsibility is ended. It may be protocolwise or professionally thatis all you should do but that is not going to help us, and again, weare in a situation where the barn is burning and everybody is standingaround explaining why they cannot put out the fire, picking a fewdandelions off the lawn but the barn in the meanthne is burning down.Dr. Brown. I think we have been more than just waiting. We haveasked for the materials. Now, we really are at it. You must understandthat whenever the barn seems to be burning, there is thisfeeling—let me go back to an earl}^ implication of yom* question. Therewas similar feeling, I think, 7 or 8 years ago that has occurred againabout cancer, a terrible thing. Once you get involved in the cancersituation it is heartrending. It hits almost every famil3\ A large programto screen every possible drug that might have an effect oncancer was approached. Everything that might help ought to bescreened through thousands and millions of rats and mice. Thatapproach tried and ditl not pay off.