AREA CODE 6QQ 
PHONE 262-2177 
McARDLE LABORATORY 
FOR CANCER RESEARCH 
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN • MADISON, WISCONSIN 53706 
December 28, 1977 
Dr. Donald S. Fredrickson 
Di rector 
National Institutes of Health 
Bethesda, Maryland 20014 
Dear Dr. Fredrickson, 
Thank you for the opportunity to attend the December 1 5~ 1 6 , 1977 Meeting 
of the Advisory Committee to the Director of N.I.H. and to address the members 
of this Committee. Since the imposed five-minute time limitations did not 
permit me to clearly express all data, let me remphasize two main requests I 
wanted to make: 
1. Please implement as soon as possible, hopefully within the next few weeks, 
those parts of the new Guidelines proposal which modify the definitions 
of recombinant DNA and which exclude from under the Guidelines experiments 
between recombining or coexisting genomes, especially between the genes of 
E^. col i K-12, its phages and plasmids. There was uniform agreement as to 
the latter provision and any further delays in implementing it would greatly 
interfere with proper functioning of the already overburdened N.I.H. 
Office of Recombinant DNA and with basic scientific research. I 
would like also to stress that on the basis of general media reports 
many scientists believe that recombinant DNA experiments between 
JE. col i K-12 and its phages or plasmids are already outside the Guidelines. 
Thus, your prompt confirmation of that by any simple means should preclude 
any unnecessary future confusion and ensuing accusations similar to those 
experienced by the insulin team from the University of California at San 
Francisco. We already heard at your meeting that the research sponsored 
by the pharmaceutical industry applies the new version of the Guidelines, 
and my understanding is that they are legally correct. 
2. Please exlude from the Guidelines most of the experiments employing EK1 
or EK2 host-vector combinations which carry novel recombinant DNA, as 
specified in point 7 and justified in points 8-10 of my official 
testimony, a copy of which is enclosed. A few exceptions from this 
general exclusion could be specified in the new Guidelines, although they 
will be more of emotional than of any scientific and factual value. 
In addition to the reasons specified in my enclosed testimony, there 
are also legal reasons why including all of the EK1 and EK2 novel DNA 
experiments into the new Guidelines is unjustified. The Recombinant DNA 
Advisory Committee and the ensuing Guidelines are based on Section 301 of 
[Appendix A — 161] 
