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Netherlands’s Court upholds Pfizer’s Lipitor patent

Pfizer has reported that the Court of Appeal of The Hague in the Netherlands has ruled that the basic patent covering atorvastatin - the active ingredient in Lipitor - would be infringed by a competitor product from generics manufacturer Ranbaxy.

The decision prevents Ranbaxy from launching its drug before Lipitor’s basic patent expires in November 2011. Ranbaxy can seek to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.

Allen Waxman, general counsel of Pfizer, said: “The court’s ruling reinforces the fundamental principle that patent laws exist to support and encourage medical innovators, not undermine them.”