Canadian firm beats drug giant in legal battle

[Spazito]

An inexpensive drug produced by a family-owned Canadian firm, which was at the centre of a lengthy court battle, will soon be available to breast and lung cancer patients.

U.S. pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb tried to block the sale of Biolyse Pharma's drug Paclitaxel, arguing the drug was a copy of its own medication.

But the Supreme Court ruled otherwise. Last month, the nation's top court ruled 6-3 in favour of the St. Catharines-based company.

snip

Last month's ruling comes as good news not only for the company, but also for the health-care system.

more

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1117755005469_16/?hub=Health

*** Mods, this was reported late yesterday evening, Thu. Jun. 2 2005 11:26 PM ET, so I hope it still qualifies as breaking news, if not please move as appropriate, thanks)

[getmeouttahere]

1. Sounds like a victory for the little guy!

and for Canadian cancer patients. I hope we see more of this out of other countries, like AIDS medication, for example.