Merck to Bristol-Myers Face More Threats on India Patents
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Pharmaceutical companies from Merck & Co. to Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. face fresh threats to protecting their patents in India as a government-appointed panel prepares to evaluate more drugs for local makers to copy.
The panel is looking beyond the cancer treatments it studied last year to areas such as HIV and diabetes, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. It plans to study more than 20 drugs and recommend the government assign about three so-called compulsory licenses to allow local firms to make low-priced copies in India, they said.