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COPYRIGHT 2001 Thomson Financial Inc.
* Pharmas Retrench on AIDS Suit. The pharmaceutical industry on April 19 withdrew a court challenge to a South African law allowing the nation to bypass patent protections and import or manufacture generic versions of patented AIDS drugs. South Africa is promising to implement the law in a manner consistent with the World Trade Organization, but the industry had rejected such promises earlier as insufficient. Growing world attention to the African AIDS crisis has made the suit a PR headache for the companies.
* Administration Okays Drug Probe. The Federal Trade Commission announced April 19 that it's received permission from the Bush Administration to survey generic drug competition to see if anti-competitive actions it's acted against under the Hatch-Waxman Act are typical or exceptions. Thirty brand-name manufacturers and 70 generic drug makers will be asked to provide information in the probe.
* Uh-oh, RU-486 Is a Go. "RU-486 has been approved in America, and therefore, until it proven or has any suggestion that it's unsafe, it will not be reviewed," HHS chief Tommy Thompson said April 17. American Life League President Judie Brown accused Thompson of reneging on promises to investigate the health risks of the abortion inducing drug, which she said kills "pre-born children, and it can kill women."
* CalPERS Swallows Hard, Imposes Cost-Conscious Pricing. Last year, bowing to enrollee pressure, the board of the California Public Employees Retirement System against increasing copays and kept its beneficiaries' out-of-pocket expenses for drag and physician utilization among the lowest in the nation, opting for a hefty hike in premiums instead. But...
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