The Indian government gave its approval to domestic pharmaceutical firms to make copies of Pfizer Inc's Viagra, an anti-impotence pill.
The federal health minister C. P. Thakur gave his approval. Drug controller Ashwini Kumar issued the orders.
Indian patent laws only provide protection for the process of how a drug is made but not the product itself. These laws allow Indian companies to produce cheap drug-imitations that are patented in the West.
The laws are expected to be tightened soon. However, this will not affect approvals already given to copies of Viagra.
Pfizer has not launched Viagra (TM) in India, saying that it would be impossible to sell the product at Indian prices.
Some companies are producing ViagraClones. Cipla Ltd. and Sun Pharmaceuticals are among these firms.
The approvals are likely to create a flood of cheap Viagra-Clones...