Association Briefs

The Merger That Didn’t Happen After months of discussions, plans for a merger of the nation’s two largest biotechnology associations have fallen through. The Industrial Biotechnology Association had proposed joining forces with the Association of Biotechnology Companies in July. In discussions that went on through the summer, the two Washington-based organizations couldn’t resolve questions about equal representation of their members, according to the ABC’s new executive director, Pamela Bridgen. Although there is some overlapping between the two groups, IBA’s member companies tend to be larger and pay higher dues than those in the ABC, which also includes noncorporate groups like universities and independent institutes. The ABC has now proposed a “Biotechnology Association’s Roundtable,” which would meet quarterly to review biotechnology issues and plan strategy, but Richard Godown, the IBA president, says the idea “seems improbable at this time" and suggested that the ABC’s rejection of the merger will likely mean less collaboration. Although both groups say they encourage dual membership, there could be more competition between them for members: the IBA board of directors has decided on a new dues structure that will attract smaller companies and provide “associate membership” for noncorporate members. Curtains For The Observer This month’s issue of the AAAS Observer will be its last, according to a spokeswoman for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The lively bimonthly newsletter, which has been sent to AAAS members as a supplement to Science for a little more than a year, fell victim to an order by the organization’s board of directors that executive director Richard S. Nicholson balance the budget. AAAS newsletters that receive no outside funding are the immediate targets of the cutbacks, with the possibility of more cuts to follow. Besides the Observer, which costs the AAAS about $50,000 a year to publish, the AAAS Congressional Bulletin also has been axed. ACS Signs Pact With Soviets Glasnost has come to on-line database searching. The American Chemical Society and the USSR Academy of Sciences have signed a protocol of intent to cooperate on projects linking Soviet scientific and technical organizations to ACS’s Chemical Abstracts Service. CAS is a self-sustaining service of ACS that produces scientific databases and operates STN International, an on-line computer information network. As part of the first cooperative project, STN International demonstration and training centers will be established in Moscow and Siberia. One or two Soviet chemists will be trained in on-line database searching in the United States; they will then return to the USSR and train two to four additional Soviets to teach others the technique, according to ACS spokesman Peter Andrews. “We’re still negotiating on exactly how the centers will be operated,” says Andrews. The demonstrations, which will be run “presumably for about a year,” will show Soviet scientists the value of conducting on-line searches. “Some time after that,” when enough Soviets have been trained, the centers “would go to full use,” says Andrews. At this early stage of the collaboration, the financial details are “not exactly clear,” says Edward Donnell, GAS’ senior adviser, planning and communications. While the Soviets will provide the facilities for conducting the training in the USSR, “the equipment will depend on what’s available.” The first step, Donnell says, is to determine whether the system can be run on the Soviets’ personal computers. “We may need to provide some terminals,” export restrictions permitting, says Donnell. While ACS will provide the demonstration and training free of charge, be says, once the Soviets have learned to use CAS, they will have to “pay at normal rates.” “On-line searching is a relatively new concept in the Soviet Union,” says Andrews, primarily because “telecommunications is restricted. Right now, you can’t simply sit down at a computer in the Soviet Union, dial up a number, and reach the U.S.” Eventually, ACS hopes not only to circumvent this problem, but also to ensure faster access to scientific information originating in the Soviet Union.

Association Briefs

The Scientist Staff

The Merger That Didn’t Happen

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