The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and 39 of its members have lost one crucial battle inside Pretoria's High Court and a larger one outside. The industry's image has suffered irreparable damage from the case and has been portrayed as putting profits before lives in the country.

The multinational pharmaceutical companies are fighting the South African government's Medicines Control Act, passed in 1997. They want to stop the government adopting various measures to lower the price of drugs in the country.

The pharmaceutical manufacturers had tried in thousands …