Merck Protease Inhibitor Note: Expanded Access Program Registrants Should Receive, and Return, Mailed Confirmation

Persons who registered for the Crixivan (Merck protease
inhibitor) program (see AIDS TREATMENT NEWS #227, July 21,
1995; registration for the initial selection closed August
11) should make sure they receive the one-page patient
qualification form, which must be filled out and faxed or
postmarked by September 8. In one case we know, several
patient records were temporarily lost due to an electrical
storm which crashed the computer while the records were being
entered. Fortunately the health-care worker who called to
register those patients recognized the problem when the
qualification forms for the patients who had been entered
just before the crash were not received in the mail; a phone
call confirmed that the computer had no record of those
people, and they were re-registered. Anyone else who had the
computer go down while they were entering records should be
especially careful to check that everyone they entered is
known to the system.

If you registered but have not received the mailed
qualification form, call the Crixivan program at 800/497-
8383.

Also, do not wait for the last day to fax the qualification
form. In another expanded-access program, AIDS TREATMENT NEWS
heard from people who missed the deadline because the fax
lines were continually busy on the final day.