Novartis even expanded its European presence last year, buying a big German generics maker, Azupharm.

Apotex, a Canadian generics maker, contends in a lawsuit that the Plavix patents are invalid.

But it is only lately that generics makers have begun to scramble for new ways to add names to their products.

Mylan Laboratories, another big generics maker, has six new drugs in development, including Sulfamylon, a burn medication.

Undoubtedly, Mr. Berry's commission will stumble on one prime fact: at least some generics makers are not hurting for money.

Yet even with all these gains, none of the major generics makers are ready to abandon the product that made their name in the first place: cheap off-patent drugs.

William F. Haddad, a generics maker who helped create the cheaper off-brand industry in the United States, called the fund's decision "a big victory."

"It's continually threatening to do 'something' to countries who buy from generics makers."

The first generics maker to successfully challenge the patent on a branded molecule earns six-month exclusivity to sell the drug in the United States.

Nevirapine is a well-established drug, but it causes a serious rash in some patients, so generics makers are moving toward making compounds with efavirenz as well.