US Competitors Advance into Bayer's Anti-Anthrax Territory

In the war against bio-terrorism, US companies are pushing into the front line, with several pharmaceutical giants announcing they intend to edge into what is still the domain of Germany's Bayer AG. Only a few hours after Bayer agreed to supply the US government with 300 million tablets of its anti-anthrax drug, Ciprobay, Johnson & Johnson announced that it will apply for a license for its Levaquin drug to treat anthrax infections. The group backed up its application with an offer to the US government to stock up the nation's emergency supplies with 100 million Levaquin tablets free of charge.

The world's largest pharmaceuticals group, Pfizer, also said it is in negotiations with the government on the possible use of its antibiotics in the treatment of anthrax patients. Adopting a patriotic voice, the company announced the "mobilization of all relevant resources in the fight against terrorism".

Only a few days ago, Pfizer stepped up production of its Vibramycin drug. It contains the already patent-free active ingredient Doxyclclin, which according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is also suitable for treating anthrax.

British pharmaceuticals giant Glaxo Smithkline has also already stressed that its Augmentin drug – currently the best selling antibiotic in the world – was effective against anthrax.

But officially, it is only Bayer's Ciprobay which is registered to treat anthrax. As a result, analysts said that Bayer stood the chance to book an additional, one-off $1 billion in sales. But it is unlikely that the surge in demand for the drug will bring new business on that kind of scale. Some days ago, the FDA recommended the use of alternative treatments, and doctors have been given freedom to prescribe the drug of their choice at their own risk.

Furthermore, Bayer, in its negotiations with both the US and the Canadian government, agreed to substantial price concessions in order to prevent a suspension of Ciprobay's patent, which expires in 2004 in Canada and 2003 in the US. The group agreed Wednesday with the US Health Ministry that it will initially supply 100 million Ciprobay tablets.

The price was fixed at 95 cents, around one half of the already sharply reduced price for the US government. Bayer's office in Canada announced that the group would supply the Canadian government under the same conditions as the US government. This means that Canada will pay Can$1.50 (0.95 US cents) instead of the expected Can$2.00 per tablet.

Bayer has already made 200,000 tablets available free of charge. Canada initially placed an order for a generic version of Ciprobay but then withdrew it in recognition of Bayer's patent rights.