Word: patent
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...PATENT Bayer holds the patent on Cipro until 2003. Despite congressional pressure and news that Canadian health authorities have decided to break Bayer's patent, HHS decided against permitting other companies to make generic versions of Cipro. It maintained that Cipro (Bayer is tripling production) as well as other antibiotics, would be sufficient to meet any bump in demand...
...effectively mobilized its resources and overseen the testing of thousands and the treatment of all who have needed it. The small scale has also let Thompson maintain that we have enough antibiotics to handle the crisis, thereby avoiding the politically painful move of breaking Bayer's patent on the anthrax treatment Cipro...
...even as demand soared, controversy erupted in the U.S. over the steep price of Cipro, which sells under different names across Europe. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson said negotiations were underway with Bayer to relax its patent on Cipro; the company wouldn?t comment. No wonder: a month?s supply of Cipro retails for a steep $350 in the U.S., while the generic version in India costs about $10. The Cipro patent has expired in Germany but will run until December...
However, one approach to maintaining American preparedness was indicated by yesterday’s agreement between Bayer and the Canadian government. Last week, citing “extraordinary and unusual times,” the Canadian government announced it would ignore the Bayer patent and authorized the production of 1 million generic tablets by a Canadian company. After high-intensity negotiations, Canada yesterday reversed its position as Bayer agreed to supply the tablets within 48 hours—before the generic tablets would have been ready—at a discounted price...
Should Bayer’s production capacity prove insufficient, the U.S. should not hesitate to mandate licensing of the patent and authorize production by other companies in order to ensure Americans’ safety. At the same time, however, it should pay Bayer a fair price for the drugs—such as the below-market price it has already negotiated. The added cost of compensating Bayer for its losses would be more than offset by the continued development of medicines that are needed to protect Americans from bioterrorism...