In 1863, Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Weskott established a Pharmaceutical company currently called Bayer AG in Wuppertal-Barmen, Germany. Bayer AG has many well-known products on the market, but nothing has become more important in the last month with the rising number of Anthrax cases, than their drug Cipro. Bayer AG has a patent on Cipro so it is the only corporation that is allowed to produce it.
With only 18 cases of Anthrax in over 100 years, and the last one being 25 years ago, we had 2 deaths of it reported on the first week of October 2001. There was a great order from the American government for Bayer's drug Cipro. Many generic brand companies are accusing Bayer of ripping of the government in the time of need. Bayer has dropped prices significantly, but the medical world still believes that Bayer is making too much of a profit off it. .
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The Patent has caused a problem in the past couple of weeks, in that Bayer's rivals have opted to produce Cipro for free in order to show that they are good corporate citizens, and take the money loss to help their country out. .
The parties that are in dispute now are the generic companies telling the U.S. government to let them infringe the patent and produce a generic brand of Cipro, although Bayer AG is willing to cut costs of the product Cipro. The generic brands don't think that Bayer is cutting the costs enough, and is trying to make a profit in an emergency situation. Mr. Wehmeier, the president of Bayer America statedIt would have been a little bit awkward; we give you the first 100 million for free but for the next ones we charge? since Bayer can't afford to take a big lose. The company ended up offering to sell 100 million tablets of Cipro to the government for 95 cents apiece, lowering the price from about two dollars a tablet, with an option for another 100 million tablets at 85 cents apiece, and a further 100 million tablets (if needed), at 75 cents apiece.
