OTHER NEWS - June 28, 1993

Trial Over Anti-AIDS Drug to Begin: The British pharmaceutical giant Wellcome faces a bitter court battle in North Carolina this week to keep its monopoly on the controversial AIDS-fighting drug AZT. Its exclusive right to make and market the treatment, sold under the brand name Retrovir, is being challenged by two generic drug manufacturers, Barr Laboratories and Novopharm. If they win, they will be able to start selling cheap copies of AZT in the U.S. market. Barr has said that a generic version of AZT could slash up to 50% off the current $2,500 annual cost of the drug. Despite recent questions about its effectiveness, AZT remains the first line of defense in AIDS treatment. The drug is a big earner for Wellcome, with worldwide sales totaling $317.2 million last year, about half of that in the United States. The trial, starting today before a jury in Raleigh, N.C., is expected to last four to six weeks.