NEW YORK / dpa The world's largest drugmaker, Pfizer Inc., an extremely importantpatent suit for the cholesterol drug Lipitor has won. Lipitor is the top-selling drug in the world by far.
A judge in Wilmington (Delaware) said two Pfizer patents for "Atorvastatin" is valid,the active ingredient in Lipitor. He decided that the Indian generic drug companyRanbaxy Ltd.. infringed the patents. Therefore remain the exclusive Lipitor receiveup to 2011, Pfizer said.
Pfizer's shares shot in the face of the Pfizer CEO Hank McKinnell as an "importantvictory" cheered heavily in the decision height. They put nachbörslich to 11.82percent, to $ 25.25. Thus, the total value of Pfizer shares within hours by almost $ 20 billion to around 186 billion U.S. dollars has risen.
The drug, Pfizer last year launched a global turnover of nearly eleven billion dollars or about 20 percent of the total turnover of the world's largest pharmaceutical company, from 52.5 billion dollars.
U.S. Judge Joseph J. Farnan decided in the by Pfizer against the Indian drug company filed suit for the industry leader. Ranbaxy may not market its genericversion of atorvastatin until 2011. Ranbaxy CEO Malvinder M. Singh will appeal theruling, the company announced.
Lipitor is available in more than 70 countries. It has been prescribed for more than 18 million Americans. The drug was introduced in 1997 in the United States.
