The US is talking to German drug maker Bayer AG about relaxing its patent on Cipro, which has become the drug of choice for those worried about anthrax, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said on Wednesday.
Asked on NBC's "Today" show whether he had nudged Bayer to "turn the other way in terms of their patent and allow other countries to produce Cipro," Thompson replied: "There's no question that discussions like that have been going on and will be going on."
The company's US subsidiary declined to comment on talks with the US government. Spokesmen for Thompson and for the Food and Drug Administration also declined to elaborate on the discussions.
At issue is a long-running controversy with implications for both intellectual property rights and for poor countries who want cheaper drugs for their epidemics of AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases.
Bayer said on Tuesday it planned to more than triple production of Cipro, an antibiotic in the fluoroquinolone class, over the next three months to meet soaring public demand fanned by a spate of anthrax cases since the Sept. 11 attacks on the US.
Meanwhile, in Bombay, India, a generic drug manufacturer offered to supply the US with 20 million tablets a month of ciprofloxacin, the generic name for Cipro.
Brian Tempest, president of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, said on Wednesday he was ready to start shipping in December at an "attractive" but unspecified price. Two months' supply of Cipro equivalents cost just US$20 in India -- about one-thirtieth of the US price.
Indian drug makers have been on the forefront of providing cheaper versions of important drugs and have given governments a strong financial incentive to sidestep patents and international property law.
Strong intellectual property protections for pharmaceuticals have been at the backbone of US trade policy for years. The US argues that respect for patents preserves the incentive to develop new drugs.
Senator Charles Schumer proposed on Tuesday that the government buy generic versions, both to reduce reliance on a sole supplier and to cut costs.
Thompson said the government was considering the legal implications of Schumer's suggestion.
But FDA lawyers "indicate that we do not have the authority to purchase any place but Bayer at this point in time," he said on CNN.
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