The US Patent Office has extended the patent on Pfizer's anti- cholesterol drug.
The US Patent and Trademark Office has ruled that Pfizer's patent on cholesterol lowering drug Lipitor is valid until 2011. The drug has annual sales worth $13 billion, more than half in the US.
As a result of the ruling, Teva will not be able to launch its generic version of Lipitor until November 2011. Pfizer has already come to an agreement Indian generic drugmaker Ranbaxy under which Ranbaxy will not be able to market its version of the drug until that date. In any event, therefore, Teva will not have exclusivity for its version, and Canadian company Apotex will apparently also enter the market.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 8, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009