Article
Of patents and panics: US intellectual property law finely balances competing interests. Hasty wartime amendments would be risky, says Patti Waldmeir
...Bayer, the Cipro patent-holder, was condemned for using its patent to keep generic anti-anthrax drugs out of the hands of soon-to-be-sick Americans. The US secretary of health hinted he might abrogate the company's patent rights - and then used that threat to negotiate a sharp price cut.