Rather than suffer a bruising battle for its Cipro patent and risk more damage to its image, the German drug giant will sell the anthrax-fighting antibiotic to the [U.S.] federal government at a drastically reduced price -- 95 cents a tablet, about half earlier offers. The deal came after U.S. officials threatened to override the patent. The outcome underscores the ongoing difficulties facing the pharmaceutical industry as it tries to protect its patents. In poor countries such as Brazil and South Africa, drug makers such as Roche AG and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. have been accused of denying treatment to AIDS patients by using patent law to prevent the availability of cheaper generics. The Cipro fight is the first such squabble to involve the United States. The threat to override Bayer's patent, which expires in 2003, appears to contradict the government's own position. At a World Health Organization meeting in Qatar next month, the United States is expected to oppose efforts to produce generic medications in the event of a public-health crisis.