COURT RULES ON RANBAXY'S LIPITOR PATENT CHALLENGE

Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories has announced that the District Court of The Hague has handed down a decision in the company's case against Pfizer over the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin, which is marketed by Pfizer as Lipitor. The three-judge panel held that Pfizer's European patent covering the calcium salt of atorvastatin is invalid in the Netherlands. However, Ranbaxy's generic product was ruled to infringe on the broadest claims of Pfizer's basic European patent covering atorvastatin.

The decision, which is subject to appeal, prevents Ranbaxy from launching its drug before the basic Lipitor patent expires in November 2011, according to Pfizer. Ranbaxy is evaluating the decision and will decide on its course of action shortly, the company said in a release.

The patent the court found to be invalid expires in July 2010, according to Pfizer. The company said that, while it plans to appeal the ruling, it would not affect the patent life of Lipitor in the Netherlands because the basic patent will remain in effect. The decisions by the Dutch court do not affect challenges to Lipitor patents pending in other countries, Pfizer said.

A Norwegian court ruled last month that Ranbaxy's generic atorvastatin does not infringe on two of Pfizer's patents in Norway. But, as in the most recent case, another Lipitor patent remains valid that will not allow Ranbaxy to launch its version of the drug in Norway until 2009.