FRANCES National Aids Council on Monday asked 39 drug companies suing the South African government over its plan to use cheaper, generic Aids-fighting drugs to withdraw their lawsuit. Hearings are set to resume on Wednesday in Pretoria into the complaint filed by the 39 companies including Glaxo Wellcome, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Boehringer Ingelheim for violation of their intellectual property rights. The NAC, an advisory body on Aids-related issues, said in a statement that “the right to health must supersede intellectual property rights.” South Africa has 4.2 million HIV carriers. – AFP