美国与拜耳公司就紧急购买Cipro成交
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - Bush Administration officials announced Wednesday afternoon that they had struck a deal with Cipro (ciprofloxacin) maker Bayer on a massive federal purchase of the drug to help gird the country against more anthrax attacks.
The deal allows the government to buy Cipro for 95 cents per pill, a substantial decrease from the already-discounted $1.77 that it has paid in the past. The government will buy 100 million tablets for $95 million, with the option to buy another 100 million pills at 85 cents each and yet another 100 million at 75 cents each.
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"This agreement means that a much larger supply of this important pharmaceutical product will be available if needed," Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson said in a joint statement with Bayer officials.
The deal is the result of intense negotiations and appears nearly to have fallen through. Just a few hours before the agreement was announced, Thompson told Reuters Health in an interview that a potential pact between the government and Bayer had "unraveled."
, 百拇医药
Lawmakers had urged the government negotiators to take a firm stance with Bayer. Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, D-SD, whose office was the target of an anthrax-tainted letter last week, reiterated Wednesday afternoon that he didn't think "any company ought to benefit substantially from the tragedy this country has experienced."
David Little, of drug-pricing data firm DMD America, said things seem to have gone the administration's way. "This is apparently a defensive move on the part of Bayer," Little said. Officials had threatened that, if the company did not supply the drug for under $1 a pill, they would ask Congress to override its patent protection on Cipro.
, http://www.100md.com
Thompson announced last week his intention to increase the country's stockpiles of Cipro and other anti-anthrax drugs from 2 million 60-day treatment courses to 12 million courses. He has asked Congress to provide $643 million for the build-up.
The government's purchase will consist of 500 mg tablets, which sell on the wholesale market for an average cost of $4.02, according to Little, president of DMD America. The government's current Cipro stockpile was purchased for a substantially reduced price of $1.77 through the bulk purchasing program at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
, 百拇医药
Bayer noted in a press release that it has donated 2 million Cipro tablets to HHS for use in emergency workers.
The national pharmaceutical stockpile currently contains 18.6 million Cipro doses, meaning that the drug makes up about 10% of the entire cache. As the stockpile is enlarged with drugs and other medical supplies, the percentage devoted to Cipro will remain the same, a senior HHS official said.
Thompson said in a conference call with reporters that Bayer's payment for the drugs depends on Congressional approval of the administration's $1.5 billion emergency anti-bioterrorism request. Congress is likely to consider the funding during debate on a bioterrorism package expected Thursday., http://www.100md.com
The deal allows the government to buy Cipro for 95 cents per pill, a substantial decrease from the already-discounted $1.77 that it has paid in the past. The government will buy 100 million tablets for $95 million, with the option to buy another 100 million pills at 85 cents each and yet another 100 million at 75 cents each.
, http://www.100md.com
"This agreement means that a much larger supply of this important pharmaceutical product will be available if needed," Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson said in a joint statement with Bayer officials.
The deal is the result of intense negotiations and appears nearly to have fallen through. Just a few hours before the agreement was announced, Thompson told Reuters Health in an interview that a potential pact between the government and Bayer had "unraveled."
, 百拇医药
Lawmakers had urged the government negotiators to take a firm stance with Bayer. Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, D-SD, whose office was the target of an anthrax-tainted letter last week, reiterated Wednesday afternoon that he didn't think "any company ought to benefit substantially from the tragedy this country has experienced."
David Little, of drug-pricing data firm DMD America, said things seem to have gone the administration's way. "This is apparently a defensive move on the part of Bayer," Little said. Officials had threatened that, if the company did not supply the drug for under $1 a pill, they would ask Congress to override its patent protection on Cipro.
, http://www.100md.com
Thompson announced last week his intention to increase the country's stockpiles of Cipro and other anti-anthrax drugs from 2 million 60-day treatment courses to 12 million courses. He has asked Congress to provide $643 million for the build-up.
The government's purchase will consist of 500 mg tablets, which sell on the wholesale market for an average cost of $4.02, according to Little, president of DMD America. The government's current Cipro stockpile was purchased for a substantially reduced price of $1.77 through the bulk purchasing program at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
, 百拇医药
Bayer noted in a press release that it has donated 2 million Cipro tablets to HHS for use in emergency workers.
The national pharmaceutical stockpile currently contains 18.6 million Cipro doses, meaning that the drug makes up about 10% of the entire cache. As the stockpile is enlarged with drugs and other medical supplies, the percentage devoted to Cipro will remain the same, a senior HHS official said.
Thompson said in a conference call with reporters that Bayer's payment for the drugs depends on Congressional approval of the administration's $1.5 billion emergency anti-bioterrorism request. Congress is likely to consider the funding during debate on a bioterrorism package expected Thursday., http://www.100md.com