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Attachment IV - Page 9 
experiments to determine the potential health effects on the 
individual and the public. 
As was well documented in the Splicing Life report by the 
Presidential Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in 
Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research, the public has 
a significant interest in the ethical, social and medical aspects 
of human gene therapy. We believe that the questions raised in 
this letter warrant a wider public discussion than that incorporated 
in current procedures. The Committee for Responsible Genetics 
urges the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee to expand the ability 
of the public to participate in the current debate concerning 
safety and desirability of proposed somatic-cell gene therapy 
experiments. We recommend that the number of public representatives 
on the Working Group on Human Gene Therapy be increased from one to 
three and that the results of somatic-cell gene therapy risk assessment 
experiments be made public in scientific journals as well as 
publications written for the lay public. 
There are a growing number of privately-financed medical institutions 
which may be interested in experimenting with human somatic-cell 
gene therapy. These institutions would not be under the jurisdiction 
of the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, and therefore there would 
be no public oversight of their research activities. We urge the 
Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee to determine the number of 
private health care institutions which might engage in research 
involving somatic-cell human gene therapy so that the public 
and Congress can consider whether there is a need to establish 
a public body to oversee such research. 
In summary, the Committee for Responsible Genetics recommends that 
the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee expand the "Points to Consider" 
document to include questions concerning the hazards and general 
desirability of proceeding with the design of gene delivery systems 
using currently available technology, convene a risk assessment 
conference on the use of retroviruses for vectors in human somatic- 
cell gene therapy experiments, involve a larger number of public 
representatives in the Working Group on Human Gene Therapy, urge 
full public disclosure of the results of all human somatic-cell 
gene therapy risk assessment experiments, and investigate the number 
of private institutions which may be interested in or planning to 
engage in research involving human somatic-cell gene therapy. 
Sincerely, 
[ 36 ] 
