Jamaican pharmaceutical company, Indies Pharma, is gearing up for a court battle with international drug-manufacturing giant, Pfizer-USA, over local distribution of hypertension medication…Because of a 2005 court injunction granting Pfizer-USA the exclusive licence to sell its patented brand Norvasc in Jamaica, local pharmaceutical companies, like Indies Pharma, Medimpex and Lasco, have been barred from selling their generic brands…"Ninety-five per cent of our patients cannot afford the patented drug," says Muppuri [managing director of Indies Pharma]…Pfizer-USA contends that the patent, which is binding until 2016, protects them under Jamaican law…Of note is the fact that the patent has expired in the rest of the world, including the US, since 2008…