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Ranbaxy loses out to Pfizer again
Published on Sat, Dec 17, 2005 at 12:27, Updated on Sat, Dec 17, 2005 at 13:13 in 
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New Delhi: Ranbaxy has suffered yet another setback as a US court on Friday upheld the validity of two key US patents on Pfizer's Lipitor. Ranbaxy had hoped to introduce a generic version of the medicine.
Pfizer will now have patent protection on the world's best-selling anti-cholesteral drug through June 2011.
Analysts say that if Ranbaxy had won the case it would have meant revenues of $500 million per year. The total market size of Lipitor worldwide is $11 billion, out of which US alone accounts for $7 billion.
The US decision marks Pfizer's second major victory over Ranbaxy. On October 12, a UK court upheld the exclusivity of the basic patent covering Atorvastatin.
Ranbaxy says it will appeal the ruling and plans to begin the process immediately.
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