India’s patent office has officially rejected an application for Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), Gilead Sciences’ new hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment, Reuters reports. The decision lays the groundwork for local pharmaceutical companies in India to make cheaper, generic versions of the drug.

Gilead’s application was denied on the grounds that the $86,000, 12-week HCV treatment was not inventive enough compared to a previous formulation of the drug. Indian generic manufacturer Natco Pharma Ltd and U.S.-based Initiative for Medicines Access & Knowledge (I-MAK) led the opposition.

In April 2013, Gilead licensed Sovaldi to seven Indian generic drug makers as part of a larger bid to make the drug more widely available in 91 developing nations around the world. However, critics widely derided these deals, as they left out several middle-income countries.

India’s decision is also part of a move to expand health care access across the country, where many live on less than $2 a day and do not have access to health insurance.