In the 27 August issue (Nature 394, 844–845; 1998) we published a review of The Story of Interferon by Kari Cantell. The review repeated allegations made in the book about the late Frank Rauscher, a former senior vice-president of research (not president, as stated) of the American Cancer Society. The allegations concern the purchase by the ACS of interferon from a US company, Life Sciences, in preference to the Finnish Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service. Nature and Dr Cantell accept that Dr Rauscher was not one of the founders of Life Sciences and that neither Dr Rauscher nor anyone else at the ACS had any financial interest in the company, or stood to gain financially from the transaction. We apologize to the ACS and to Frank Rauscher's family for this misrepresentation.