The CDC's (Center for Disease Control) National Pharmaceutical Stocpile
Although CiproŽ is used to treat many infections CiproŽ, has become highly publicized in the recent months due to the anthrax attacks shortly after the tragedy on September 11th. Immediately the U.S. government began building an anthrax arsenal by stockpiling enough drugs to treat 10 million people in the event of an emergency. To ensure the demand could be met Bayer stepped up its production 300%. Production facilities ran 24 hours a day 7 days a week and sent out 200 million CiproŽ tablets to its distributors within three months of the first anthrax attacks.
The CDC's (Center for Disease Control) National Pharmaceutical Stocpile
Since then, several other
drugs have also been approved by the FDA to treat anthrax such as penicillin and
doxycycline. CiproŽ is used more often because it is generally tolerated very
well as opposed to say, penicillin, which many people are allergic to. However,
both penicillin and doxycycline are available in generic forms making them much
more affordable. With a combination of all these anti-anthrax agents there will
be plenty of antibiotics available in the event of an emergency. This
approval is also highly supported by Bayer who has the CiproŽ compound patent
protected. With demand for CiproŽ skyrocketing recently, Bayer wants to
maintain its exclusive right of production.