Indian Pharmaceutical Companies Prepared To Provide Generic Cipro

BOMBAY-Since the Sept. 11 attacks on the US, the demand for the Bayer antibiotic Cipro has skyrocketed. As the only US-approved treatment for exposure to the deadly bacterium anthrax, the demand for the drug has been overwhelming.

Pharmaceutical companies in India, however, are ready to help ease the manufacturing burden. Working under Indian laws that prevent a company from using the same manufacturing process, but not the same ingredients when working with patented drugs, several large pharmaceutical companies have announced they are well stocked with the drug. These same companies have been making headlines during the past several years by providing generic AIDS cocktail drugs to African governments. While their work is not illegal in India, they are making generic versions of many drugs that currently hold patents in the US and abroad.

A two-month supply of 120 Cipro 500 mg pills in the US would cost $693 in comparison to the same generic prescription which Indian companies sell for $20.

Information from Reuters Health