Anthrax

             Anthrax is a very infectious disease that is caused by the spore- forming bacterium, known as, Bacillus anthracis. Although there are many forms of Anthrax, only three forms that infect humans: inhalation anthrax, cutaneous anthrax and intestinal anthrax. Inhalation anthrax is often the most fatal of the three forms of human Anthrax.
             The drug of choice for the treatment of Anthrax is Cipro. Cipro is the brand name of the antibiotic drug know as, ciprofloxacin. The German company, Bayer AG, holds the patent for Cipro in the United States until December 9, 2003.
             Bayer's patents in the United States and many other countries are protected under the present trade related intellectual property rights agreements outlined as part of the World Trade Organization. Therefore, other drug companies are prohibit from commercially manufacturing and selling generic versions of the drug, except under extra ordinary circumstances.
             The secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, wants a stockpile of Cipro to adequately treat 10 million exposed persons that would mean 1.2 billion pills. He wants to deal exclusively with Bayer because he considers if " illegal" to suspend Bayer's Patent. Under the current arrangement the government only pays Bayer price of 1.77 per pill, much less than the wholesale price. However, the government is attempting to negotiate a lower price with Bayer for the medication that it would purchase, somewhere in the order of $0.95 per pill. Bayer is unable to meet the demands of the government in a timely fashion. Bayer, at best, can only off 200 million pills within 60 days, much lower than the required 1.2 billion pills. Bayer would require several months to meet the governments demand.
             Many people oppose the government dealing exclusively with Bayer. They argue that even at the lower price they are charging the government, Cipro is making excessive profits, given that...

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Anthrax. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 16:17, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/98918.html