Sales of anti-anthrax antibiotics made by one of Taiwan's largest drugmakers have more than doubled after the US anthrax scare, the company said yesterday, adding that some people were sending them to relatives in America.
China Chemical & Pharmaceutical Co (
The company produces and distributes the Cipro tablets, which contain the anthrax-fighting ciprofloxacin antibiotic, for the domestic market only.
"After news of anthrax cases spread, sales of our antibiotics have more than doubled," China Chemical Vice President Sun Yin-nan (
"I even heard that people bought our drugs and took them to their relatives in the US."
The number of Americans exposed to anthrax, a potentially deadly bacteria that can be used in germ warfare, rose to 38 on Thursday after two more cases were confirmed.
The sole US supplier of the anti-anthrax ciprofloxacin antibiotic, or Cipro, is German drugmaker Bayer AG under a patent not due to expire until 2003.
Bayer plans to more than triple production of Cipro over the next three months to meet growing public fears about anthrax. Washington has been talking to Bayer about relaxing the patent to help meet demand.
Sun, however, said increasing sales of Ciflodal would have little impact on China Chemical's overall revenues as they claim less than one percent of the firm's NT$2.4 billion annual sales.
Since mid-September, shares of China Chemical have risen 30.6 percent.
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