7 Arrested at NYSE in AIDS Drug Protest

Seven activists protesting the high cost of an AIDS drug Thursday chained themselves to a railing at the New York Stock Exchange as the opening bell signaled the start of trading but were quickly unshackled and arrested, police said.

The activists, affiliated with the known as ACT-UP, told officials that they were protesting the refusal of Burroughs Wellcome Co. to lower the price of AZT, a drug used to treat AIDS.

The unannounced protest preceded by several hours a planned demonstration outside the exchange by the group. A similar action was planned in San Francisco, and protests were scheduled in London, a spokesman said.

The activists, dressed as floor traders and wearing fake brokerage firm IDs, managed somehow to sneak into the exchange building, where security is normally tight, and chained themselves to a railing on the administrative platform overlooking the trading floor, said exchange spokeswoman Sharon Gamsin.

‘Over Quick’

“Some people managed to sneak into the building and get up on the administrative platform,” Gamsin said.

There, they unfurled a banner that read “Sell Wellcome”--a reference to Burroughs Wellcome, manufacturer of AZT--and set off miniature fog horns.

The protest did not disrupt the functioning of the exchange, said Gamsin, who noted that Burroughs Wellcome is traded over the counter, not on the NYSE.

“I think people were somewhat disturbed by it on the trading floor but it did not affect the trading or the functioning of the New York Stock Exchange,” she said. “And it was it very quick, it was over quick.”

The seven were arrested and charged with criminal trespass.