By RACHEL L. SWARNS
PRETORIA, South Africa, April 18 - The drug industry's case against South Africa was postponed today after lawyers on both sides said they were close to settling a lawsuit that has prevented the government from importing and producing cheaper anti-AIDS drugs and other medicines.
By this afternoon, most of the 39 drug makers involved in the lawsuit had agreed to drop the case. And drug company officials were speaking openly and optimistically about the prospect of a deal. The two sides will report the results of their negotiations in court on Thursday.
"We're very hopeful that we will be able to reach a settlement," said Nancy Pekarek, a spokeswoman for GlaxoSmithKline, the British drug company. "This is something we've been hoping to achieve for a while and it looks like it may happen."
The outlines of the proposed settlement were still sketchy today. Officials familiar with the talks have said the agreement will leave South Africa's law intact so long as the government reiterates its long- standing promise to respect international patents.
Mirryena Deeb, director of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of South Africa, opened talks with officials in President Thabo Mbeki's office in March after the case was delayed for six weeks to let the companies respond to a friend-of-the-court brief, an official familiar with the negotiations said tonight. More recently, several big drug makers began negotiating directly with officials in the Department of Health.
The companies were feeling pressure from a growing chorus of international critics who assailed the high prices of anti-AIDS drugs, which are far too expensive for most Africans infected with the AIDS virus.
This week, Doctors Without Borders announced that 250,000 people had signed a petition urging the companies to drop their lawsuit.
Today, dozens of drug industry critics crowded into the courtroom to celebrate what they believed would be an imminent legal victory. The advocates for the 4.7 million people infected with H.I.V. in this country were jubilant.
"We're smelling victory," said Zwelinzima Vavi, head of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, as his supporters cheered and ululated.