Patent office reaffirms Pfizer’s Lipitor protection

WASHINGTON Pfizer won a battle in the war against the marketing of generic Lipitor this week as the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office notified the company that it would be upholding the viability of the pharmaceutical giant’s ‘893 basic patent for the cholesterol drug.

The decision, which follows a March ruling by a Canadian court that Pfizer’s patent is valid in that country, is the latest in a series of legal maneuvers by Pfizer and Ranbaxy, which looks to launch a generic version of Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) before the patent expiry in 2010. The USPTO re-examination of the patent was conducted on behalf of a law firm representing Ranbaxy.

In August 2007, Ranbaxy was successful in reducing Lipitor’s patent protection from June 2011 to March 2010, which could cost Pfizer $6 billion in lost sales.

Pfizer, in return, had filed lawsuits against the Indian company to prevent it in the interim from marketing generic versions of both Lipitor and Caduet, a combination of the cholesterol drug and a Pfizer product for hypertension, Norvasc (amlodipine besylate).

Sales of Lipitor in 2007 reached $18.4 billion, according to IMS Health data.