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Germany's Bayer to Raise Production of Anthrax Antibiotic After Surge in U.S. Demand

By Stephen Graham Associated Press Writer

Published: Oct 10, 2001

BERLIN (AP) - Bayer AG said Wednesday it will boost production of its Cipro anthrax treatment to meet surging demand in the United States, where the death of a man from the rare, deadly illness has fed fear that terrorists could be using it in attacks. "A lot of people are asking for it at the drugstore," said Christian Sehnert, a spokeswoman for Germany's biggest drugmaker. Stocks at U.S. wholesalers were running down quickly, she added.

The U.S. government asked Bayer to apply for permission to sell the antibiotic Cipro, its top-selling drug, as an anthrax treatment in the United States in 1999, Sehnert said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, which requires a doctor's prescription, in August last year.

Bayer will increase output 25 percent from Nov. 1 by bringing a mothballed production plant in Germany back online. Sehnert declined to say how many doses that constitutes, though she said worldwide sales of Cipro were $1.6 billion last year.

She declined to say whether Cipro has been sold to the military in the United States, where the only manufacturer of a vaccine against the disease, Bioport Corp., has been unable to meet FDA requirements.

In Florida, hundreds of people are waiting for test results to learn whether they were exposed to anthrax at the Boca Raton headquarters of a publisher where the 63-year-old killed by the disease worked.

The source of the anthrax, which can be used as a biological weapon, is the subject of an investigation involving the FBI. No link with terrorism has been established so far.

Anthrax produces a toxin that can cause severe damage to the respiratory system and brain, killing untreated patients within days. Treatment with antibiotics is often successful if the infection is caught in time.

Higher demand for Cipro is a boost for the Leverkusen-based drug and chemical maker, reeling from the withdrawal worldwide of its Baycol anti-cholesterol treatment in August after it was linked to more than 50 deaths.

Bayer has warned that the loss of Baycol will cut 2001 earnings by some 800 million euros ($720 million), and announced plans to cut thousands of jobs.

Shares in Bayer were up 1.2 percent at 34.05 euros ($31.11) in mid-afternoon trading in Frankfurt.

AP-ES-10-10-01 1131EDT

-- Anonymous, October 10, 2001