Document 3NXpO5aDQ3qXJLd6az7mJMDrO

1F E L I X C O O A R W O R F S C R . F . C . I O C H T H .C . BROWNELL,VICE M (iOINT U . A .M A R T I N O , VICE M C l l O t K T R O B E R T LCI NCROCLTEAYRVZ-ITCACCTAEEULROE.M 4 2 0 LEXINGTON AVENUE N EW YORK 17.N.Y. MANFRED BOWDITCH DIRECTOR O F HEALTH AND SAFETY October 16, 1952 Kobert A. Kehoe, k.D. Kettering Laboratory of Applied Physiology College of Medicine Eden Avenue Cincinnati 19, Ohio Dear Bob: Thank you very much for your exhaustive and most helpful letter of October 11th. I am very sorry about the Cincinnati "tempest11 and particularly that Dr. Kotte has found himself more or less at i t s .epicenter, for I have never known a more cooperative medical man than he and I have the highest regard for him. As I view it at this rather long range, the situation, which i hope will soon blow over if it has not already, must be chargee to an unfortunate concatenation, first the reaction in those two cases, whether attributable to EDTA or not, sec ondly Dr. Weech*s being out of town and the strange maaus whereunder no one may apparently speak above a whisper in his absence, thirdly the fog in which we found ourselves as a re sult of Dr. Kotte's well-intended note to me, fourthly Dr. Shipman's equally well-purposed attempt to apply a little radar, fifthly the quite understandable misconstruction placed on this by Dr. Kotte, and finally the ancillary fact that, having in years past written repeatedly to Dr. Y/eech without ever the courtesy of a reply, I have found it a bit difficult to accord him the esteem that I have for so many others of his and your profession. I gather that you have seen the original Shipman-Kotte exchange. Immediately on receiving copies, both George Wheatley and I wrote letters to Dr. Kotte which we hoped would help to mend the breach. Tom telephoned me the next day to discuss the situation and thereafter wrote to Dr. Kotte the second_ letter of which, on the chance that you have not seen it, I en close a copy herewith. p iS 03554 Robert A. Kehoe, M.D 2 October 16, 1952 It might be well for you to know that, in addition to Tony Lanza's letter to you, Elston Belknap sent an inquiry to Dr. Weech and Harriet Hardy wrote to Dr. David Freiman. Whether these letters have brought replies I have yet to hear. I hardly need say that I more than share your preference for prevention over therapy, but my rather special position brings me such constant evidence of the length and rockiness of the avertive road still to be travelled that the great amount of time and effort I have given to this inquiry into the efficacy of Ga EDTA has seemed to me more than well spent. I am gratified that you are inclined to feel as i do that the more severe child hood cases are the ones in which clinical trial of this treatment is most justified, and it is the best of news that the drug may have been effective in those Panama cases. With reference to your handwritten postscript, the letter from Dr. Maison of which a copy is my second enclosure will serve to clarify for you the situation in Los Angeles, as it has for me. It is my understanding that Tom Shipman has headed for the Pacific, leaving Dr. Foreman at Los Alamos, and I assume that the latter will receive the copy of your letter addressed to Tom. Also enclosed is a copy of the protocol originally sent to you on August 6 th, incorporating the corrections covered by the errata sheet mailed on September 17th. You are quite at liberty to show this letter to Dr. Kotte if you think it would help to clear the air. I hope you will use your influence toward the highly important end of stimulat ing early and complete reporting of those two Cincinnati General Hospital cases. Sincerely, MB: JG cc: Dr. Belknap Dr. Foreman Dr. Hardy Dr. Lanza Dr. Wheatley COPY October 2, 1952 H Robert H. Kotte, M.D. 1710 Madison Road Cincinnati 6 , Ohio Dear Dr. Kotte: Dr. Foreman was away on vacation all last week, and I did not have an opportunity to see him until today. This should serve to explain my delay in replying to you. I am extremely sorry if you took my remarks as being directed at you personally. Such certainly was not my intention, and I still look back on the meeting which we had in Cincinnati last spring with pleasure. It can not be denied, however, that your earlier letter to Manfred Bowditch had suggested that someone, pre sumably in Cincinnati, had had an unfavorable experience with EDTA, and I rather hoped that through you we could prevail on that in dividual to share his knowledge with those of us who have a defi nite interest in the subject. My regard for the medical work done in Cincinnati always has been and still is high (my brother-in-law, Sam Kavenel, got his pediatric training in Cincinnati and must have been about a con temporary of yours). As to the inner politics of medicine in Cin cinnati and the relationships between doctors, I must confess to be quite uninformed. If it had not been for my high regard for the work done in Cincinnati, I would have been inclined to pay no further attention to the entire affair. One does not, however, toss off lightly opinions coming from a group he respects. I fully appreciate your'reluctance to quote somebody else's work, and while I can not entirely understand someone else's re luctance to allow himself to be quoted, I guess that all we can do is to sit tight and hope that the information will be forthcom ing in time. I still can not feel that there is anyone in Cincinnal who would knowingly remain quiet in the possession of information adverse to a procedure sincerely being proposed by someone else. It is unfortunate that you are in a spot where you can't do any more about it. Please accept my assurance that I am trying to understand this and that I am not in any way criticizing you. Very sincerely yours, TLSrplw cc:~ Manfred Bowditch Harriet Hardy Elston Belknap Thomas L. Shipman, MCD. Health Division Leader |^i'. 035 56 ffiOPWfr* Riker Laboratories, Inc Los Angeles, Calif 7 October 1952 P. 0. Box 3157 Terminal Annex Los Angeles 54, Calif. Mr. Manfred Bowditcb The Lead Industries Assoc. 420 Lexington Avenue New York 17 N. Y. Dear Mr. Bowditch: Sam Lerner passed on to me your very kind condolences over the sad event we are trying to get used to. Fenn is indeed a very difficult man to replace, not only in the work sense but in the personal sense. May I clarify the present organization of Riker Labora tories for youV The company is a subsidiary of the Rexall Drug Company. Its President_is Mr. J.W. Dart, its Managing Vice-President, myself, its Research Director, Dr. J.Y/. Stutzman, its Vice-President in charge of Sales and Promo tion, Mr. Alfred H. Ridges, its Vice President in charge of Manufacture, Dr. J. Albert Raynolds. The aim of the corporation is, of course, the design, fabrication and marketing of ethical drugs by which term is implied, drugs marketed only on physicians prescriptions. Factory and offices are both in Los Angeles and all mail funnels through the post office box named above. My interest in Versene continues. The rate of utili zation of ampules has very much stepped up and what reports we have received back suggest that the efficacy in lead poisoning at least appears good. I would enjoy to exchange information with you whenever the opportunity may arise. I hope that the course of your work will bring you out here after not too long a time. With kindest personal regards, I am, Sincerely yours, /s/ George Maison GLMimew George L. Maison