Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has decided not to seek a Thai patent for its anti-retroviral drug Combid, a source at the Commerce Ministry said yesterday. The withdrawal of its application followed a protest by an HIV/Aids group, which said a patent would give the UK-based firm a monopoly on the drug's sale in Thailand...The source said the firm's lawyer wrote to the Department of Intellectual Property on Aug 8 withdrawing its application, one day after about 500 people protested outside Glaxo's Bangkok office. The source understood that Glaxo in June ordered its representatives to withdraw its applications in Thailand and India.