Pfizer to Seek Correction of Technical Defect in Second Lipitor Patent
NEW YORK, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pfizer Inc said today the
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has denied Ranbaxy's petition for
rehearing of an August 2 decision upholding the exclusivity of the main
patent covering atorvastatin, the active ingredient in Lipitor. That patent
expires in March 2010.
"The court has declined to further review the August 2 decision," said
Peter Richardson, Pfizer's senior vice president and associate general
counsel. "As we noted in our response to the rehearing petition, the issues
in this case were straightforward, the lower court's decision was
consistent with prior law, and it raised no matters of exceptional
importance requiring that they be revisited again."
Pfizer now plans to go back to the U.S. Patent office to seek to
correct a technical defect in a second patent covering the calcium salt of
atorvastatin. The second patent, expiring in June 2011, was ruled invalid
by the court on technical grounds.
The company noted that Ranbaxy may seek review of the Court of Appeals
decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
SOURCE Pfizer Inc
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CONTACT:
Bryant Haskins of Pfizer Inc, +1-212-733-8719
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