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Bayer hikes anthrax drug output
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October 11, 2001: 12:34 p.m. ET
German drugmaker will boost production of Ciprofloxacin by 25%.
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NEW YORK (CNNmoney) - Bayer AG will increase its production of Ciprofloxacin, the only antibiotic approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat anthrax infections, by roughly 25 percent.
Demand for Ciprofloxacin has surged since one man in Florida died of anthrax, an extremely rare bacterial disease, and two other people tested positive for the presence of anthrax in their bodies. Anthrax bacteria can be used as a biological weapon.
All three worked at the same office, and investigators Thursday said they had found no evidence linking the presence of anthrax at that office with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Even so, the incident has caused a run on the antibiotics needed to treat the disease.
Ciprofloxacin, which Bayer sells under the brand name Cipro, is widely used for bladder, urinary and respiratory infections. It is Bayer's best-selling drug, with annual sales prior to the anthrax scare of $1 billion in the U.S. and $1.6 billion globally, the company said.
Ciprofloxacin is the only antibiotic specifically approved by the FDA to treat anthrax infections, although other antibiotics are believed to be effective.
The U.S. government asked Bayer to apply for permission to sell Cipro as an anthrax treatment in the United States in 1999, a company spokeswoman said. The FDA approved the drug, which requires a doctor's prescription, in August 2000.
She said the company currently is meeting demand for the drug and is not giving special preference to government orders. The company plans to increase production by bringing a mothballed production plant in Germany back online, the spokeswoman said. 
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