"International patent law does allow governments to ignore companies' rights in the event of a national health care emergency, but analysts insist any move to override Bayer's patent would be highly controversial. The United States has traditionally been a fierce protector of intellectual property rights for pharmaceuticals companies despite criticism that this deprives poorer countries of cheap drugs to combat diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis. There are fears that if patent rules are relaxed because of a crisis in the United States, drug companies may find it increasingly difficult to enforce their rights in disease-hit areas in the developing world in the future."
The amount Bayer is forecasting being able to provide with stepped-up production is still only about 10 percent of what the U.S. is asking for. (See article at the end of this message.)
Incidentally, it's difficult to foresee any kind of end to the anthrax hijinks, real or phony as the individual cases may be. As reports come in that it's potentially turned up in Kenya (mailed from the U.S., no less), and as the U.S. House of Representatives adjourns early, going home for a longer-than-expected weekend, it's easy to imagine innumerable scares to come, stretching out to infinity. And possibly some serious incidents, unless the Postal Service stops delivering mail altogether.
Instigating a scare, as we've seen, is easier than a bomb threat - just put some talc in an envelope (taking care not to leave any DNA), drop the letter in any mailbox, and all hell breaks lose on the receiving end for a few hours. Perhaps we'll emerge on the other side of this whole thing in a world where scattered, innumerable anthrax scares make followup and enforcement impossible - and people become increasingly immune to panic owing to the ubiquity of false incidents, while others occassionally drop dead in small clusters.
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/ dave /
[fwd]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1605000/1605477.stm
Bayer faces patent pressure
Many Americans are stocking up on anthrax treatments Pressure is growing on German drugs company Bayer to relax its patent on its anthrax treatment in response to growing fear about bioterrorism.
In response to questions about pressure on Bayer to allow other countries to produce the drug, US health secretary Tommy Thompson said: "There's no question that discussions like that have been going on and will be going on."
Bayer already plans to triple production of the drug to meet the increased demand.
However, other drug companies are already poised to supply the US with ciproflaxin, the generic name for Cipro.
Deepak Chatterraj, the head of the US arm of India's Ranbaxy Laboratories, told the BBC's World Business Report that he was ready to start shipping in December at an "attractive" but unspecified price.
Mr Chatterraj said that he and other firms had been approached by a US senator, Jack Schumer, to ask about their readiness to supply anti-anthrax drugs if necessary.
But he denied that he had been approached directly by the US government.