Bayer AG, Germany's biggest drugmaker, promised to supply enough of the antibiotic Cipro to treat cases of the deadly anthrax infection and confirmed it's in talks with the US government about delivering the drug.
Demand has soared for Cipro, the most powerful treatment available for anthrax, as the bacteria has been found across the US. Eight anthrax cases have been confirmed in recent weeks in Florida, New York and New Jersey, with one fatality.
Bayer is discussing selling another 100 million Cipro tablets to the Health and Human Services Department, to boost US stockpiles, which are now enough to treat 2 million people, officials said. Canada agreed yesterday to buy a generic version of Cipro for half the price Bayer charges the US government, a move Bayer officials said violates patent law.
"The first and foremost responsibility we have is the adequate supply of Cipro to the American public and the US government," Helge Wehmeier, chief executive of Bayer Corp, the company's US unit, told reporters on a conference call. "We have the ability to fully, fully supply the needed product, and we stand ready to supply any need wherever it is."
All the US exposures so far have involved infections that can be easily treated with a full range of antibiotics. This week, the Food and Drug Administration approved two older drugs for inhaled anthrax, penicillin and doxycycline, both available in generic form.
Some regions are experiencing shortages of Cipro, especially where anthrax has been found, said Wolfgang Plischke, president of Bayer's North American pharmaceutical division. The company has shipped 50 million pellets in the past two weeks, about a quarter of a typical year's production, targeting the areas of greatest need, such as New York, Washington and Florida.
Cipro has had "the highest increase of demand for a pharmaceutical ever in history," Plischke said. "Our people are working here seven days a week, 24 hours a day."
Bayer objects to Canada ignoring its Cipro patent, given that the company can deliver 200 million tablets in the next three months, and hopes to resolve the matter amicably, he said.
The company has tripled production of Cipro, which normally sees US$1 billion in sales annually, Wehmeier said. The 60-day treatment for anthrax involves five days of Cipro, two tablets per day, followed by other antibiotics.
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