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The government on Wednesday refused to override patents on the AIDS drug Norvir, effectively allowing a quintupling of the price to stand despite consumer groups' accusations of price gouging. Patient groups and some members of Congress had pushed the National Institutes of Health to take the unprecedented action, arguing it was warranted under a special law because Norvir's discovery was partially funded by taxpayer dollars. But the NIH decided that such an extraordinary step could have overly broad effects on the pharmaceutical market, and would exceed that law's intent. "The issue of drug pricing has global implications and, thus, is appropriately left for Congress to address legislatively," concluded Dr. Elias Zerhouni, NIH director. [more]