March 3, 2010

Ellen K. Feder, PhD

Associate Professor and Acting Chair

Department of Philosophy and Religion

American University

4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20018-8056

Alice Dreger, PhD

Professor of Clinical Medical Humanities and Bioethics

Feinberg School of Medicine

Northwestern University

Chicago, IL 60611-3008

Dear Drs. Feder and Dreger:

Thank you for your letter of February 22. You indicate in that correspondence that you have notified the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of your concerns. Because those concerns appear to be based on specific statutory requirements, we agree that HHS and FDA, rather than The Endocrine Society, are the appropriate bodies at this point to pursue this matter.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Vigerksy, MD

President

The Endocrine Society

RAV/jd