Generic drug battle won by Pfizer

19 December, 2005

Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer of the famous erectile dysfunction drug Viagra has won a court battle to protect its patent of the cholesterol-lowering drug, Lipitor, sending company shares up sharply in mid-afternoon trading. A Delaware court ruled that an Indian generic pharmaceutical maker, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, the manufacturer of generic erectile dysfunction drug, Caverta, had infringed on two of Pfizer's patents.

District Judge Joseph Farnan had ruled in Delaware federal court that Ranbaxy had failed to prove Pfizer's patents were invalid or unenforceable. Malvinder Singh, Ranbaxy's president and executive director, has vowed to appeal Friday's ruling which temporarily halts Ranbaxy's plan to launch a cheaper version of Lipitor before Pfizer's patents expire in 2010 and 2011.


To read more, visit:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2005/12/19/pfizer-051219.html