Ranbaxy guns for Pfizer's $12-b
cholesterol drug Lipitor
12 September 2005
Ranbaxy's onslaught on Pfizer's $12-billion cholesterol
drug Lipitor is termed as the mother of all patent challenges. The
case is becoming a touchstone of sorts for the generic drugs industry.
A court in the UK is expected to give its ruling
this month on the issue. And there is more at stake than just the
money. The image of the company and the morale of the industry also
hang delicately in the balance.
The ruling from the UK court will not have a bearing
on the proceedings in the US court, which is expected to give its
ruling by the year-end. Pfizer has multiple patents on the drug,
staving off generics up to the year 2010.
The generic drugs industry, often called none-too-generously
as the copy-cat medicines business, has often locked-horns with
patent-driven or innovator drug companies. But when litigation is
resolved by the court, it is a shot in the arm not just for the
company winning the case, but also the segment of industry (generic
or innovator) it belongs to, observes a representative with the
Indian drug industry. The image and morale are also linked to the
huge litigation cost and revenues.
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