Ranbaxy wins atorvastatin suit in Austria; Pfizer to defend Lipitor patent in other countries

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., April 25 - Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. said a five-judge panel of the Supreme Patent and Trademark Board of Austria 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).

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 U.S. Patent No. 4,681,893, according to a news release.

"Our success further validates our strategy to successfully commercialize atorvastatin in Austria, and potentially other health care markets in the future. It is anticipated that this will have a positive impact on health care costs, by providing a high quality, generic alternative at affordable prices," Ranbaxy chief executive officer and managing director Malvinder M. Singh said in the release.

Meanwhile, Pfizer said the 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.

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 is an international pharmaceutical company based in New York.

Ranbaxy, based in Gurgaon, India, is a research-based pharmaceutical company producing a wide range of generic medicines.

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