11.   The same companies that would make generic copies of Cipro also produce the generic alternatives, doxycycline and penicillin.

12.   This strategy is especially attractive for drugs whose patents have expired, making them vulnerable to brutal price slashing as generic copies come on the market.

13.   AIDS campaigners have also accused the companies of blocking the efforts of some countries to produce cheap generic copies of drugs.

14.   The government was talking with drug companies to get them to further reduce their prices and was also considering using generic copies of AIDS drugs, he said.

15.   But like many of its peers, GSK faces challenges to expiring patents from companies offering generic copies of its drugs.