Court Of Appeals Upholds Preliminary Injunction Against Ranbaxy Laboratories, Enjoining Company From Marketing Quinapril HCl Tablets

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (RLL) announced today that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has upheld the preliminary injunction granted by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey barring its subsidiary Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. (RPI) from marketing its Quinapril HCl Tablets (5, 10, 20, and 40 mg). RLL had appealed to the CAFC to reverse a preliminary injunction, the result of a suit brought by Pfizer, Inc., asserting that RPI's Quinapril HCl Tablets did not infringe on U.S. Patent No. 4,743,450 literally and under the doctrine of equivalents.

The merits of the principal case will now be argued at the District Court in New Jersey where a trial will be held on the merits of Ranbaxy's non- infringement case.

Quinapril HCl Tablets are the AB-rated generic equivalent of Pfizer (Parke Davis') antihypertensive agent Accupril(R) Tablets.

Jay Deshmukh, Ranbaxy's Vice President of Global Intellectual Property said, "The Appeals Court explained that its decision was based on a preliminary record and noted that claim construction, a legal issue, is subject to change based on a more developed factual record. Moreover, the preliminary injunction did not address the invalidity or enforceability of the '450 patent. Accordingly, Ranbaxy intends to vigorously challenge infringement, validity and enforceability of the patent in further proceedings before the district court."

Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("RPI") based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited ("RLL"), India's largest pharmaceutical company. RPI is engaged in the sale and distribution of generic and branded prescription products in the U.S. healthcare system.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, headquartered in India, is an integrated, research based, international pharmaceutical company producing a wide range of quality, affordable generic medicines, trusted by healthcare professionals and patients across geographies. Ranbaxy's continued focus on R&D has resulted in several approvals in developed markets and significant progress in New Drug Discovery Research. The Company's foray into Novel Drug Delivery Systems has led to proprietary "platform technologies", resulting in a number of products under development. The Company is serving its customers in over 100 countries and has an expanding international portfolio of affiliates, joint ventures and alliances, ground operations in 46 countries and manufacturing operations in 7 countries.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited

CONTACT: Charles M. Caprariello, Vice President, Corporate Communicationsand Government Affairs, Ranbaxy Inc., +1-609-720-5615; or Edwige Buteau,+1-212-994-7517, or Anuj Baveja, +1-212-994-7552, both of RF BinderPartners Inc. for Ranbaxy Inc.

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