British Court Upholds Ruling Protecting Key European Patent for Pfizer's Cholesterol Drug

LONDON -- Britain's Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld a ruling protecting a key European patent for Pfizer Inc's best-selling cholesterol drug, Lipitor.

A panel of three judges rejected an appeal by Indian drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. against an October High Court decision upholding the patent, which expires in 2011.

Ranbaxy had wanted to release a generic version of the drug in Britain. The patent covers atorvastatin, the active ingredient in Lipitor.

The appeals court backed the lower court by ruling invalid a second Pfizer patent covering the calcium salt of atorvastatin, which expires in July 2010.

Pfizer Vice Chairman Jeffer B. Kindler welcomed the ruling, saying it was "consistent with the fundamental principle that patents exist to support the work of medical innovators pursuing discoveries that benefit current and future generations of patients around the world."

Ranbaxy said it was evaluating the court's decision.

Lipitor is world's best-selling drug and brings in more than $12 billion (euro9.42 billion) a year for Pfizer.