GURGAON, India and LONDON and PRINCETON, N.J., April 25 /PRNewswire- FirstCall/ -- Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. (Ranbaxy) today said that a five-judge panel of the Supreme Patent and Trademark Board of Austria (OPM) has unanimously affirmed an earlier ruling of the Austrian Patent Office, invalidating claims 1-3 (all claims sought by Ranbaxy to be invalidated) of Pfizer's Austrian Patent AT 207896, covering atorvastatin calcium (Lipitor(R)).
On March 29, 2005 the Patent Office had ruled AT 207896 invalid for lack of novelty over Pfizer's International Patent Application PCT/US89/00719, published as WO 89/07598 and lack of inventive step over United States Patent No. 4,681,893.
"We are pleased with the decision rendered by the Supreme Patent and Trademark Board of Austria," said Malvinder M. Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Ranbaxy. "Our success further validates our strategy to successfully commercialize atorvastatin in Austria, and potentially other healthcare markets in the future. It is anticipated that this will have a positive impact on healthcare costs, by providing a high quality, generic alternative at affordable prices."
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 125 countries and has an expanding international portfolio of affiliates, joint ventures and alliances, ground operations in 46 countries and manufacturing operations in 7 countries.
Contact details, India Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, Gurgaon Media calls: Ramesh L. Adige +91-124-5166009 Mobile: +91 9810020547 e-mail: ramesh.adige@ranbaxy.com Raghu Kochar +91-124-5135141 Mobile: +91 9811617256 e-mail: raghu.kochar@ranbaxy.com Krishnan Ramalingam +91-124-5135143 Mobile: +91 9810042540 e-mail: krishnan.ramalingam@ranbaxy.com Analysts and investors: Anurag Kalra +91-124-5135163 Mobile: +91 9810109253 e-mail: anurag.kalra@ranbaxy.com Contact details, USA Ranbaxy Inc., Princeton, NJ Media calls: Chuck Caprariello +1 609 720 5615 Mobile +1 609 462 7354 e-mail: chuck.caprariello@ranbaxy.com Robert Ferris RF Binder Partners, Inc +1 212-994-7505 Mobile: +1 201-888-5234 e-mail: robert.ferris@rfbinder.com Anuj Baveja RF Binder Partners, Inc +1 212-994-7552 Mobile: +1 551-587-2233 e-mail: anuj.baveja@rfbinder.com Contact details, Europe Stonehenge Public Relations Ltd., London Media calls: Geoff Potter +44 [0] 207 434 2255 Mobile: +44 [0] 7802 292044 e-mail: geoff@stonehengepr.com
Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd.CONTACT: India, Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, Gurgaon, Media calls, RameshL. Adige, +91-124-5166009, Mobile: +91-9810020547,ramesh.adige@ranbaxy.com; Raghu Kochar, +91-124-5135141, Mobile: +91-9811617256, raghu.kochar@ranbaxy.com; Krishnan Ramalingam, +91-124-5135143,Mobile: +91-9810042540, krishnan.ramalingam@ranbaxy.com; Analysts andinvestors, Anurag Kalra, +91-124-5135163, Mobile: +91-9810109253,anurag.kalra@ranbaxy.com; USA Ranbaxy Inc., Princeton, NJ, Media calls,Chuck Caprariello +1-609-720-5615, Mobile: +1-609-462-7354,chuck.caprariello@ranbaxy.com; Robert Ferris, RF Binder Partners, Inc,+1-212- 994-7505, Mobile: +1-201-888-5234, robert.ferris@rfbinder.com; AnujBaveja, RF Binder Partners, Inc, +1-212-994-7552, Mobile: +1-551-587-2233,anuj.baveja@rfbinder.com; Contact details, Europe, Stonehenge PublicRelations Ltd., London, Media calls: Geoff Potter +44-(0)-207-434-2255,Mobile: +44-(0)- 7802-292044, geoff@stonehengepr.com
Web site: http://www.ranbaxy.com/
