Just days earlier, the Bush Administration was emphasizing its desire to safeguard the patent system.

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Schering-Plough maintains that Claritins patent should be extended because the company was unfairly affected by an unexpectedly long Food and Drug Administration review, according to Bill ODonnell, a spokesman for the company.

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Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (nyse: RDY - news - people ) has already applied with the Food and Drug Administration to sell the drug in the U.S. when Bayer's patent expires, and other drugmakers in India, like Cipla and Ranbaxy Labs, might jump at the chance to meet U.S. supply needs.

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Lyrica, an improved version of the off-patent Neurontin, was initially delayed for several years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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Earlier this month, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that it may ask the Food and Drug Administration to allow it to market the cholesterol-lowering statin Lipitor over the counter after its patent expires in November.

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Government must act the part, as it has in the United States through necessary laws such as bankruptcy and patent rights, protections through courts, incentives such as tax abatements and enabling bodies such as the Small Business Administration.

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