Ranbaxy continues patent battles
Ranbaxy Laboratories has won its case in Austria to invalidate three claims of Pfizer's Austrian Patent AT 207896 covering Atorvastatin calcium in the cholesterol drug Lipitor.
Ranbaxy Laboratories has won its case in Austria to invalidate three claims of Pfizer's Austrian Patent AT 207896 covering Atorvastatin calcium in the cholesterol drug Lipitor.
The Supreme Patent and Trademark Board of Austria (OPM) affirmed the Austrian Patent Office" s ruling that AT 207896 lacked novelty over Pfizer's International Patent Application PCT/US89/00719, published as WO 89/07598, and lack of inventive step over US Patent 4,681,893.
Lipitor was the best-selling drug for the fifth year in a row in 2005, achieving worldwide sales of US$12.2bn.
Meanwhile, Roche is claiming that Ranbaxy's generic version of Valcyte, its drug for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in patients with AIDS, infringes its patent that expires in 2014.
Ranbaxy is seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to sell its version of the drug, which contains the key ingredient valganciclovir hydrochloride, but Roche is seeking a court order to prevent the FDA granting such approval.
Sales of Valcyte and a related drug called Cymevene totalled CHF394m (US$318.7) in 2005.