Abner
Mason,
a
gay
Republican
member
of
the
Presidential
Advisory
Council
on
HIV/AIDS,
may
have
violated
government
ethics
rules
or
practices
by
using
his
position
on
the
advisory
panel
to
promote
the
interests
of
U.S.
pharmaceutical
companies,
an
AIDS
activist
has
charged.
Genevieve
Clavreul,
who
describes
herself
as
an
advocate
for
accountability
of
AIDS
organizations,
said
in
a
May
9
letter
to
PACHA
co-chair
Tom
Coburn
that
Mason
appears
to
be
using
his
position
as
chair
of
PACHA’s
International
Committee
as
a
platform
for
promoting
drug
industry
causes
through
an
organization
he
helped
create
called
the
AIDS
Responsibility
Project.
Coburn
told
the
Blade
on
May
26
through
an
e-mail
message
that
he
instructed
PACHA’s
executive
director,
Josephine
Robinson,
to
forward
Clavreul’s
letter
to
the
inspector
general’s
office
at
the
U.S.
Department
of
Health
&
Human
Services.
The
Inspector
General’s
office
investigates
allegations
of
potential
violations
of
laws
or
regulations
by
HHS
officials
or
related
agencies.
HHS
provides
administrative
support
for
PACHA.
The
possible
investigation
of
Mason
by
the
HHS
inspector
general
comes
at
a
time
when
Mason
and
his
AIDS
Responsibility
Project
have
taken
positions
in
sharp
disagreement
with
AIDS
activists
over
the
proposed
use
of
low-cost,
generic
AIDS
drugs
produced
in
foreign
countries.
Mason
drafted
and
pushed
through
a
resolution
at
PACHA’s
March
meeting
calling
on
President
Bush
to
refrain
from
using
funds
from
his
$15
billion
emergency
AIDS
relief
program
for
African
and
Caribbean
nations
for
AIDS
drugs
that
do
not
meet
the
stringent
drug
approval
process
of
the
U.S.
Food
&
Drug
Administration.
Critics
say
the
resolution
favors
U.S.
drug
companies,
who
hope
to
supply
drugs
to
Africa
under
the
president’s
program,
because
those
drugs
already
have
FDA
approval.
Such
a
policy
would
delay
the
use
of
foreign-made
generic
AIDS
drugs
that
cost
a
fraction
of
what
the
U.S.-made
drugs
cost,
and
could
delay
their
use
by
thousands
of
Africans
who
are
dying
of
AIDS
each
month,
critics
charge.
Bill
Pierce,
a
spokesperson
for
HHS,
disputes
claims
that
the
FDA
procedures
would
delay
generic
drugs
from
coming
into
use.
But
Mason’s
dual
role
as
a
member
of
PACHA
and
head
of
an
organization
advocating
for
positions
considered
favorable
to
large
drug
companies
could
create
a
flap
in
the
midst
of
the
presidential
election,
further
straining
the
president’s
status
among
gays
and
AIDS
advocates.
The
Blade
reached
Mason
on
his
cell
phone
Tuesday
seeking
comment.
Mason
said
he
was
in
an
airplane
and
had
to
hang
up,
but
would
be
available
on
Wednesday.
Mason
did
not
return
several
calls
seeking
comment
on
Wednesday.
“Abner
Mason
is
a
drug
company
stooge,”
said
Paul
Davis,
an
official
with
Health
Gap,
an
AIDS
advocacy
group
that
accuses
the
FDA
of
caving
in
to
drug
companies
by
not
allowing
the
immediate
use
of
generic
AIDS
drugs
produced
in
India
for
the
Africa
relief
program.
Davis
was
the
only
AIDS
group
representative
willing
to
talk
on
the
record
about
Mason
and
the
AIDS
Responsibility
Project.
Others,
speaking
on
condition
that
they
not
be
identified,
said
they
had
no
objections
to
Mason
serving
as
an
advocate
for
drug
companies.
But
they
said
they
were
troubled
that
he
has
not
disclosed
his
ties
to
pharmaceutical
firms
that
appear
to
be
funding
at
least
some
of
the
ARP’s
activities
and
most
likely
Mason’s
salary.
PACHA
is
a
35-member
advisory
body
that
makes
recommendations
to
the
president
and
the
HHS
secretary
on
AIDS-related
issues.
Its
members
are
not
paid.
Many
of
them
come
from
the
fields
of
AIDS
research
and
medicine
as
well
as
from
private
industry
and
community-based
advocacy
groups.
Pierce
said
he
would
look
into
the
status
of
any
inspector
general’s
office
review
of
Clavreul’s
letter,
but
Pierce
did
not
provide
additional
information
by
press
time.
Pierce
said
the
HHS
general
counsel’s
office
has
issued
guidelines
about
possible
conflicts
of
interest
for
members
of
all
presidential
advisory
bodies
and
that
members
of
such
bodies
are
required
to
comply
with
them.
In
her
letter
to
Coburn,
Clavreul
noted
that
Mason
helped
create
the
AIDS
Responsibility
Project
in
2003,
one
year
after
President
Bush
appointed
him
to
PACHA.
She
noted
that
Mason
appears
to
be
the
ARP’s
sole
employee.
Clavreul
told
the
Blade
that
sources
in
the
“AIDS
community”
informed
her
that
ARP
receives
substantial
funding
from
pharmaceutical
companies
or
trade
groups
representing
those
companies.
ARP’s
Web
site
makes
no
mention
of
its
source
of
funding.
However,
it
lists
the
Pfizer
pharmaceutical
company
and
the
Pharmaceutical
Research
and
Manufacturers
of
America,
known
as
PhRMA,
as
two
of
several
organizations
with
which
the
group
has
“partnerships.”
Clavreul
said
sources
from
AIDS
organizations
also
informed
her
that
Mason
has
facilitated
numerous
meetings
between
officials
with
pharmaceutical
companies
and
members
of
Congress
or
their
staffers
by
highlighting
his
position
as
chair
of
the
PACHA
International
Committee.
Clavreul
noted
that
Mason
has
also
written
at
least
two
commentaries
for
newspapers
—
the
San
Francisco
Chronicle
and
the
Boston
Globe
—
advocating
against
the
use
of
low-cost
generic
AIDS
drugs
for
the
president’s
AIDS
relief
program
for
Africa
and
the
Caribbean
Basin.
In
both
commentaries,
Mason
identified
himself
as
chair
of
PACHA’s
International
Committee.
“I
believe
it
is
important
to
understand
that
I
am
not
opposed
...
