HEALTH CARE

Ciba-Geigy Wants to Go Ahead With Generic Zantac: Alex Krauer, chairman and chief executive of the Swiss pharmaceutical company, said the company has made enough of an investment in developing a generic version of Glaxo Wellcome’s ulcer treatment that it should be allowed to market the drug before the U.S. patent expires. Britain-based Glaxo’s patent on top-selling Zantac, which was due to expire in December, has been extended until mid-1997 under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruling that brought U.S. laws into compliance with international trade accords. Ciba, which applied early in 1994 to market the generic drug in anticipation of the patent’s 1995 expiration, is now seeking legislation that would enable it to market it before 1997, a company spokesman said.