Australian Full Federal Court Upholds Basic Lipitor Patent, Preventing Launch of Generic Ranbaxy Product.Lipitor Protected from Generic Competition in Australia until 2012 NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Pfizer Inc said today that the Australian Full Federal Court in Victoria has upheld on appeal the exclusivity of its basic patent covering atorvastatin atorvastatin /ator·va·stat·in/ (ah-tor?vah-stat´in) an antihyperlipidemic agent that acts by inhibiting cholesterol synthesis, used as the calcium salt in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and other forms of dyslipidemia. , the active ingredient An active ingredient, also active pharmaceutical ingredient (or API), is the substance in a drug that is pharmaceutically active. Some medications may contain more than one active ingredient. in Lipitor. The ruling, the culmination of a lawsuit filed in 2005 by generic drug generic drug, a drug sold or prescribed under the nonproprietary name of its active ingredients or under a generally descriptive name rather than under a brand or trade name. manufacturer Ranbaxy, preserves Lipitor's patent coverage in Australia through May 2012. Ranbaxy can appeal the decision. The court found that a proposed Ranbaxy generic product would infringe Pfizer's basic Lipitor patent (AU 601,981). A second patent covering the calcium salt of atorvastatin (AU 628,198), which expires in September 2012, was ruled invalid by the court. Pfizer has the opportunity to appeal that ruling. The Australian decision will not impact ongoing Lipitor patent actions in other countries, including the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Pfizer said it will continue to vigorously defend against challenges to its intellectual property, noting that patents provide the necessary incentive to invest in new and life-saving medicines that benefit millions of patients globally. |
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