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news.A US federal appeals court has denied a petition by Indian drug company Ranbaxy for a rehearing of a previous decision to uphold a patent protecting Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor.
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The original decision to uphold the patent was on August 2 and specifically deals with the active ingredient in Lipitor called atorvastatin. Pfizer’s paatent is due to expire in March 2010.
“The court has declined to further review the August 2 decision,” said Peter Richardson, Pfizer’s senior vice president. “As we noted in our response to the rehearing petition, the issues in this case were straightforward, the lower court’s decision was consistent with prior law.”
Pfizer now plans to go back to the US patent office to seek to correct what it deems to be a technical defect in a second patent covering the calcium salt of atorvastatin. The second patent, expiring in June 2011, was ruled invalid by the court on technical grounds.
Pfizer also noted that Ranbaxy may seek review of the Court of Appeals decision by the US Supreme Court.