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SOUTH AFRICA

More than 40 pharmaceutical companies, including the world's largest and most powerful ones, will file a lawsuit against the South African government in a bid to stop it from passing a legislation aimed at reducing the price of medicines. The companies had tried to stop the South African parliament from passing the Medicines and Related Substances Act of 1997, but after failing to do so the industry decided to file the lawsuit, thereby preventing the act from coming into force. The act not only seeks to regulate the marketing and distribution of medicines in South Africa but also aims at encouraging the import of cheaper drugs and generic substitutes. Drugs used in the treatment of Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (aids) are too expensive

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