As VaxGen Inc. prepares to unveil further analysis of its AIDS vaccine study at a scientific conference today, its reports of potential benefits to minority groups last month continue to draw both interest and scrutiny.

A coalition of AIDS activist groups is calling for an independent review by the National Institutes of Health to assess the Brisbane company's claim that AIDSVAX holds the potential to protect blacks and other minority groups from HIV infection, though it failed for the mostly white study participants.

And a growing number of shareholder lawsuits accuse company executives of puffing up weak data on the possible benefits to some trial participants. The suits allege VaxGen was trying to cushion the inevitable price drop of its shares when the largely disappointing trial results hit the market Feb. 24. The company denies those claims.

"You announce what you are confident in, what you feel has been vetted properly, and you let the data speak for itself," said company spokesman Lance Ignon.

VaxGen's announcement of the results of the first completed late-stage AIDS vaccine trial ignited cross-volleys of controversy, however -- not only about its scientific validity, but about its social impact. Some AIDS groups called the company irresponsible for spotlighting preliminary data suggesting a protective effect for people of African or Asian descent when the number of such study participants was very small.

But minorities and others blasted statements that called the vaccine trial an overall failure. Critics said the interests of other racial groups were being ignored because AIDSVAX didn't work for white participants.

A month later, in spite of continuing skepticism over VaxGen's claims, a coalition of seven AIDS activist groups is presenting a united front. It supports a comprehensive NIH review to decide whether further studies on AIDSVAX should proceed.

"To let it drop would be a huge, huge error, in my opinion," said Phill Wilson of the Black AIDS Institute, a member of the coalition. "But by that I don't necessarily mean a need for a new Phase III trial of 5,000 black people."

The coalition said VaxGen should release its proprietary AIDSVAX data to an outside NIH panel to clear up statistical criticisms of the company's conclusion that the vaccine may benefit certain racial groups.

"If such effects are real, they need to be followed up on with further research," coalition members said in a letter to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"If they are the result of an artifact, the public needs to be informed of this expeditiously so researchers and the affected communities can move on to explore more promising vaccine approaches."

Fauci said he wants a "very, very thorough, unbiased good look" at the VaxGen data, and plans to convene a panel that honors activists' requests for significant minority representation. If the panel finds some promise of benefit, NIAID will move to the question of funding another trial.

"We will seriously consider it," Fauci said.

Ignon, VaxGen's spokesman, said the company's presentation at the Keystone Symposia in Canada will be one of many opportunities for the scientific community to review the AIDSVAX data and company analyses that are continuing.

Declining to outline the scope of today's session, he said the company would cooperate with an NIH review.