Abbott's AIDS fight-back

In March 2007, Abbott Laboratories withdrew its application to register the AIDS drug Aluvia in Thailand because since November 2006, the Thai government has issued a series of compulsory licences to enable it to manufacture or purchase generic copies of patented medicines from third parties without the consent of the patent holder. In May, the company sued the French activist group Act Up-Paris in a Paris court after it had launched an attack on the company's website. Abbott's hardball tactics reflect the high stakes of the latest round of disputes to break out between the industry and governments over drug pricing and access.