The Hindu Business Line : Dutch court favours Ranbaxy on atorvastatin

Ranbaxy Laboratories today announced that a district in the Netherlands has handed down a decision in Ranbaxy's ongoing patent litigation against (Pfizer) Warner-Lambert over the cholesterol-lowering drug `atorvastatin', which is marketed by Pfizer as `Lipitor'.

The three-judge panel of the District Court of The Hague held that (Pfizer) Warner-Lambert's `European Patent 409 281' — covering the calcium salt of atorvastatin which had been challenged by Ranbaxy — was invalid in the Netherlands, a Ranbaxy statement said.

However, Ranbaxy's atorvastatin product was ruled to infringe the "broadest claims" of (Pfizer) Warner-Lambert's `European Patent 247 633' in the Netherlands. "Ranbaxy is evaluating this decision and will decide on its course of action shortly," the company statement said.

Pfizer, on the other hand, said the ruling of the panel prevents Ranbaxy from launching its drug before Lipitor's basic patent (European Patent 247,633), which expires in November 2011.

In a statement on its Web site, Pfizer said the decisions by the Dutch court do not affect challenges to Lipitor patents pending in other countries, including the US.

More Stories on : Courts/Legal Issues | IPR | Pharmaceuticals | Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd

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