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CNN Live At Daybreak

Discussion with President of Bayer

Aired November 01, 2001 - 07:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: One thing seems clear, anthrax spores are spreading.

Our medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, spoke with the nation's Health and Human Services secretary about all that. He joins us now from CNN Center -- good morning, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

That's right. We heard a lot just from Dr. Fauci about cross- contamination. We performed an admittedly non-scientific, very simple sort of experiment here at CNN, trying to demonstrate how spores might actually get outside an envelope. What we used here is talcum powered, Miles.

Just for a frame of reference, talcum powder is usually 30 to 40 microns in size, spores one to five. We put some in a mail bin, shook it up. This was fluorescent talcum powered. We put a black light on that and certainly we did find that some of the powder actually got on some of the other envelopes.

Now, again, this isn't really scientific. It's just a possibility, purely speculative. But I did sit down and speak with Secretary Thompson about this. I showed him this video and asked for his reaction. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: My reaction is is that common sense would certainly come to the conclusion that anthrax spores could conceivably come through an envelope and be deposited on other mail just going through the mail department or being delivered to somebody else. It's entirely plausible and I think your explanation certainly shows that it could happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: And it is just one explanation and it has not been proven yet, Miles, but it may show how what may have been a suspicious package full of anthrax spores may have actually had some of those spores leak out onto other envelopes and possibly be delivered to people other than what we've seen so far -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's doctor in the house.

Sanjay Gupta, thank you very much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: We'll check in with you a little bit later.

The first drug of choice to combat anthrax was Cipro. It's made by the Bayer Corporation. But the company, best known for its aspirin, may have a headache of its own. It's been accused of failing to ramp up production fast enough and refusing to cut prices. And then there's the matter of giving the drug away where it's needed.

In an exclusive interview, CNN's Willow Bay sat down with Bayer's CEO and began with that very question.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HELGE WEHMEIER, PRESIDENT & CEO, BAYER CORPORATION: Initially, Secretary Thompson talked about 100 million tablets. Just take, take the premise of that we would have donated that. Then he all of a sudden talked about the option for another 200 million tablets. Then there are nations like, who else is in the fight? Great Britain is in the forefront of the fight. They will have a need to protect themselves, because there could potentially be an anthrax attack there. Do we deny them then, you know, the same free gift? Germany, France, Italy all the civilized nations around the world. What do we do? All of a sudden we become the free supplier of the entire free world. Clearly not an option.

WILLOW BAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can you reassure people that there's enough Cipro on hand?

WEHMEIER: The nation can be assured, the citizens can be assured, everyone in America can be assured that there is and there always will be enough Cipro on hand. Absolutely.

BAY: Were you caught off guard by the criticism this company received in the early going?

WEHMEIER: We tried to concentrate on the supply and quickly ramping up production. I give here our team great credit that on the day of September 11 they started to ramp up production, even though at that time there was nothing on the horizon about anthrax. And why did they do that? Because we had the experience of supporting the troops at that time, at the time of Desert Storm, and we knew that America in one way or another would need to respond to this extraordinary horrific event.

BAY (voice-over): Wehmeier is so anxious to reassure people that there is adequate supply of the drug that he invited us into their U.S. manufacturing facility.

WEHMEIER: This is where we do the gowning.

BAY: A visit that required sterile jump suits, shoes, hats and goggles.

WEHMEIER: Let's proceed.

BAY: Employees are working 24 hour shifts, seven days a week to produce 60 million tablets a month. At that rate, Bayer will fill the government's order by the end of the year and still continue to supply pharmacies and hospitals.

WEHMEIER: There is enough Cipro around, particularly since the government really has built up an enormous safety stockpile for the nation. There is no need to hoard. And why am I so adamant on this? Because hoarding is just one step away from using the drug on hunches, on fear, without the indication, without the advice from a doctor. And that should not be. This is not cough medicine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: In fact, Bayer has given Cipro away, two million doses to postal workers whom Wehmeier believes are on the front lines in the anthrax battle.

ZAHN: And still to come this morning, finding Osama bin Laden. Checking up on the U.S. intelligence gathering operation in Afghanistan. A talk with James Woolsey, former CIA director, right after this break.

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