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news.Pfizer has entered into an agreement with Ranbaxy Laboratories and certain of its affiliates to settle substantially all its patent litigation worldwide involving Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering medicine.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Ranbaxy will have a license to sell generic versions of Lipitor and Caduet in the US effective November 30, 2011. Caduet is a medicine that combines the active ingredients of Lipitor and Norvasc and treats both high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
In addition, the agreement provides a license for Ranbaxy to sell generic versions of Lipitor on varying dates in seven additional countries: Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Australia. Pfizer and Ranbaxy have also resolved their disputes regarding Lipitor in Malaysia, Brunei, Peru and Vietnam.
The lawsuits between Pfizer and Ranbaxy regarding Lipitor and Caduet will be dismissed in the specified countries, and Ranbaxy will no longer contest the validity of Pfizer’s patents in the specified countries, including the US, according to the agreement. The settlement also resolves all patent litigation with Ranbaxy relating to Accupril in the US and Viagra in Ecuador.
Ian Read, president of worldwide pharmaceutical operations at Pfizer, said: “The agreement provides patients with access to a generic product much earlier than if Ranbaxy were unsuccessful in obtaining approval for its product and overcoming the relevant patents.”