- DUESSELDORF, Germany
(Reuters)
- German drug company Bayer AG said Wednesday it was increasing production
of its Cipro anthrax treatment as fears mounted in the United States of
biological attacks.
-
- "We see signs that demand is increasing," Bayer
spokeswoman Christina Sehnert said.
-
- Anthrax scares have swept the United States following
a journalist's death from the disease in Florida and news that a second
man has been exposed to the disease. Rare in nature, anthrax can be used
in biological warfare.
-
- Americans are on high alert following last month's
suicide
hijack attacks on New York and Washington, which the U.S. administration
has blamed on Islamic militant Osama bin Laden.
-
- New Yorkers filled 27 percent more prescriptions for
Cipro in the week ending September 28 than last year, according to data
from Atlanta-based drug research company NDCHealth.
-
- Sehnert said a mothballed plant would resume production
of Cipro, the only orally administered drug recommended for such use by
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
-
- Bayer's output of the drug would increase by 25 percent
starting Nov. 1.
-
- Cipro, an antibiotic used for a wide range of bacterial
infections, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat
exposure to anthrax in August 2000.
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- Bayer shares gained 2.2 percent to 34.40 euros by 11:40
a.m. GMT, after touching a high of 34.60.
-
- Other European companies could also see an increased
demand for their products as a result of rising concerns about possible
biological attacks in the United States.
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- Shares in Danish biotechnology firm Bavarian Nordic,
which makes smallpox vaccine, and British group Biotrace International,
which supplies testing kits, have both surged since the September 11
attacks.
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- Acambis, another UK firm, has seen its stock leap nearly
80 percent on speculation the U.S. government will bring forward orders
for smallpox vaccine under an existing contract.
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