Lipitor Protected from Generic Competition In United Kingdom until 2011
NEW YORK, June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pfizer Inc said today the
United Kingdom's Court of Appeal has upheld the exclusivity of the main
patent covering atorvastatin, the active ingredient in Lipitor.
The appellate court ruling affirms a lower court decision in October
2005 that found a proposed Ranbaxy generic would infringe Pfizer's basic
Lipitor patent (EP 247,633). The appellate court's decision prohibits
Ranbaxy from introducing a generic version of atorvastatin in the UK before
the expiration of the basic patent in November 2011, subject to a possible
further appeal to the House of Lords.
Pfizer Vice Chairman and General Counsel Jeffrey B. Kindler said: "We
are pleased with the appellate court decision, which affirms the lower
court ruling on our basic patent for Lipitor. This decision is consistent
with the fundamental principle that patents exist to support the work of
medical innovators pursuing discoveries that benefit current and future
generations of patients around the world."
The appellate court ruled invalid a second patent covering the calcium
salt of atorvastatin (EP 409,281), which expires in July 2010 and therefore
has no commercial relevance in the UK.
SOURCE Pfizer Inc
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CONTACT:
Bryant Haskins of Pfizer Inc, +1-212-733-8719
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