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Gilead patents on costly hepatitis C drug challenged in five countries

By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. group is trying to block patents in five countries for Gilead Sciences Inc’s costly hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, in a bid to give almost 60 million afflicted people access to cheaper generic versions. In Argentina, Brazil, China, Russia and Ukraine, challenges have been filed against Gilead’s patents or patent applications, the New York-based Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, or I-MAK,