NEW YORK, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pfizer said today that the
Austrian Patent Office has ruled that a claim in the company's basic patent
covering the use of atorvastatin, the active ingredient in Lipitor, would
be infringed by generic manufacturer Ranbaxy. Ranbaxy can appeal the
ruling, but the patent will remain in effect during the appeals process.
Lipitor is sold in Austria under the brand name Sortis.
The decision will allow Pfizer to take further legal action to prevent
Ranbaxy from launching a competitor product before the expiration of
Lipitor's basic patent on November 7, 2011.
"The decision by the Austrian Patent Office is yet another affirmation
of the strength of the intellectual property behind this important medical
breakthrough," said Pfizer general counsel Allen Waxman. "The ruling
reinforces the fundamental principle that patent laws exist to support and
encourage medical innovators, not undermine them."
Pfizer said it will continue to vigorously contest challenges to its
Lipitor patents around the world.
SOURCE Pfizer
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CONTACT:
Bryant Haskins, +1-212-733-8719, for Pfizer
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