Thailand allows copycat AIDS, heart disease drugs

BANGKOK, Jan 29 (Reuters) Thailand has issued ''compulsory licences'' for generic, copycat versions of Kaletra, an HIV-AIDS drug, and Plavix, a blockbuster treatment for heart disease, in a move likely to outrage international pharmaceutical companies.

''The laws have been signed and became effective on Friday,'' Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla told reporters today.

Kaletra is made by Abbott Laboratories and Plavix is sold by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb REUTERS AKJ SP1130