According to Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has denied Ranbaxy's petition for rehearing of an August 2 decision upholding the exclusivity of the main patent covering atorvastatin.
Atorvastatin is the active ingredient in Lipitor®, whose patent expires in March 2010.
Peter Richardson, Pfizer's senior vice president and associate general counsel, stated:
"The court has declined to further review the August 2 decision. As we noted in our response to the rehearing petition, the issues in this case were straightforward, the lower court's decision was consistent with prior law, and it raised no matters of exceptional importance requiring that they be revisited again."
Source: Pfizer, Inc.
It should be noted that Austrian Patent Office and Dutch Court, also ruled in favor of Pfizer on Lipitor's basic patent.
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