Some drug makers don’t mind a little fear in the market. Take, for instance, the experience of Anbex Inc. of New York, which sells potassium iodide tablets meant to protect the thyroid gland from absorbing radiation. Sales rose steadily between the attacks of Sept. 11 and the invasion of Iraq, amid fears of attacks on domestic nuclear power plants. But orders have fallen off since then, and company president Alan Morris worries that consumers have grown complacent. He recently sent direct-mail samples of his tablets to try to stimulate demand.
