NEW YORK, April 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pfizer said today that an Austrian appeals court ruling on the enantiomer patent for Lipitor applies only to Austria and is not relevant to patent litigation between Ranbaxy and Pfizer in any other jurisdiction.
Pfizer holds other patents for Lipitor in Austria, including its basic patent that does not expire until 2011. These patents are not affected by the court’s decision.
The court ruling upheld a decision by the Austrian Patent Office to invalidate the product claims of Pfizer’s enantiomer patent covering atorvastatin calcium, the active ingredient in Lipitor. The patent had been challenged by Ranbaxy, a generics company based in India.
Pfizer won Lipitor patent challenges over Ranbaxy in 2005 in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Romania and Peru. A number of these decisions are being appealed by Ranbaxy.
Pfizer will continue to vigorously contest challenges to its Lipitor patent around the world and to defend any and all patent challenges that seek to undermine Pfizer’s mission of creating value for patients and investors through biomedical innovation.
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CONTACT: Bryant Haskins of Pfizer Inc, +1-212-733-8719
Web site: http://www.pfizer.com/
