The decision is pending patent litigation yet to be scheduled.
Pfizer reports that a Danish court has granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the sale of Ranbaxy’s generic version of Lipitor. The generic atorvastatin product will thus be withdrawn from the Danish market pending the outcome of a patent infringement trial that has not yet been scheduled.
The Bailiff’s Court of the Copenhagen City Court in Denmark made its ruling against Nomeco, a Danish pharma wholesale.
The case was related to three Pfizer patents covering atorvastatin calcium, the active ingredient in this cholestrol-lowering drug, as well as processes and intermediate compounds used to make atorvastatin. Lipitor is covered until November 2011.
“This ruling is another significant milestone in our defense of Lipitor patents around the world,” says Pfizer senior vp and general counsel, Allen Waxman. “And, it’s an important outcome for Pfizer and other medical innovators who invest in high-risk research to develop life-saving medicines for millions of patients,” adds Karin Verland, country manager of Pfizer Denmark.
