By helping to solve their problems voluntarily, Bayer can avoid circumstances like the aspirin debacle by building a stockpile of goodwill to be used later.
One step Bayer should undertake is to continue to be aggressive in meeting FDA guidelines on the taking of Cipro. The company should include these recommendations, in English, on supplies sent to Mexico, because they know that some of these will end up in the U.S. Given the nature of the anthrax scare, however, Bayer should increase its labeling standards. Consumers are more likely to take the drug inappropriately under these circumstances. Although Bayer would not have had any way to knowing it at the time, they could have faced significant risk if their labeling, in light of the panic, was considered to be inadequate (Wyeth v Levine, 2008). Therefore, Bayer should support the recommendations of the CDC, as that should meet the standard for vigorous application of consumer warnings. It should especially emphasize that Cipro is not to be taken unless in an emergency situation and in consultation with a physician.
It is not wrong for Bayer to profit from a public health problem. All pharmaceutical companies, health care providers and health insurance companies in the United States profit from public health problems. Moreover, the system of patent protection is set up specifically to protect intellectual property rights so that companies can extract monopoly rents in order to offset the high cost of drug development. It has been argued that there are social welfare costs to this system, but there has been insufficient social will to change...
That conflicting views exist supporting the notion that voluntarily surrendering the patent does not change the fact that Bayer would be doing nothing wrong by the standards of American society by profiting from the crisis.
In summation, Bayer needs to be more decisive and take leadership on this issue. There is nothing wrong with continuing to extract monopoly rents on patent-protected products. However, the community standards suggest that it may be better to voluntarily suspend the patent. This will generate considerable goodwill within the community; such goodwill could be valuable at a later date. In addition to suspending the patent, Bayer should back the CDC's warnings about the use of Cipro. The company should also boost its labeling, to protect itself against product misuse, the likelihood of which has increased in light of the panic.
Works Cited:
Wyeth v Levine. 2008. Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved November 15, 2009 from http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/06-1249.pdf
Dunne, A. (no date). Rent seeking and the social cost of monopoly. Trinity College of Dublin. Retrieved November 15, 2009 from http://www.maths.tcd.ie/local/JUNK/econrev/ser/html/rent.html
Sterckx, S. (2006). The moral justifiability of patents. Ethical Perspectives. Retrieved November 15, 2009 from http://www.ethical-perspectives.be/page.php?LAN=E&FILE=ep_detail&ID=109&TID=973
