The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has launched its own weekly electronic newsletter, the NCI Cancer Bulletin--and immediately come under fire from a 30-year-old for-profit company called The Cancer Letter.
Publisher Kirsten Boyd Goldberg and her attorney, Steven Lieberman, say it's no coincidence that NCI has chosen the same eight-page format, schedule, and theme color (red) used by the $305-a-year publication. Lieberman, of the Washington, D.C., firm of Rothwell, Figg, Ernst and Manbeck, says that NCI Director Andrew von Eschenbach wants to drown out The Cancer Letter because of its critical reporting: "The Cancer Letter has caught NCI with its pants down many times," says Lieberman. It has accused NCI of becoming politicized and of awarding a $2 million grant without proper peer review. "Now [von Eschenbach is] trying to retaliate" by creating a no-cost rival, Lieberman claims.
The NCI publication is available for free on NCI's Web site. Like its private counterpart, it will present news and grant opportunities. Von Eschenbach says he decided to create the new publication because "I've been looking for new ways to disseminate" news about NCI's achievements and research opportunities. He denies wanting to compete with The Cancer Letter and insists that "red is our corporate color." But he notes that the new publication is "a pilot" that could change depending on how readers respond.
