The company had applied for the reissue patent in January 2007, in order to correct a technical defect in the ‘995 enantiomer patent for atorvastatin calcium, the salt form of atorvastatin sold as Lipitor.
On January 6, 2009, the company announced that the US Patent & Trademark Office had issued a ‘notice of allowance’ accepting the company’s application to correct the technical defect in the ‘995 patent.
The reissue patent will have the same force and effect as the original ‘995 patent and the same June 2011 expiration date (including the six-month pediatric exclusivity period).