EPO SIDES WITH PFIZER IN LIPITOR PATENT OPINION

The European Patent Office (EPO) issued an opinion upholding Pfizer's Lipitor patent, siding with the company in a patent infringement case filed by generic drugmaker Ranbaxy. The opinion was given after a request from the Spanish court that is hearing the case.

In its opinion, the EPO shot down the generic firm's arguments that the patent on atorvastatin calcium, Lipitor's active ingredient, is invalid due to "lack of novelty" and "lack of inventive step."

The opinion will be among several views considered by the court in Barcelona, Spain, before it makes a decision on the lawsuit.

Pfizer also got good news from a different Spanish court — the Court of Appeal in Madrid — that rejected an appeal by generic drugmaker Ratiopharm. In that case, the court confirmed the validity of Pfizer's patent under the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of the World Trade Organization.

Pfizer said it will continue to vigorously defend its intellectual property rights against infringement. The company's blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor is the most prescribed drug in the world, according to Pfizer.