Finland stops Ranbaxy from selling Atovastatin

Ranbaxy Laboratories today suffered another setback in its worldwide litigation to sell a generic version of cholesterol-lowering drug Atovastatin sold worldwide by patent-holder Pfizer as Lipitor and generating $12 billion in annual global sales.

While a lower court had ruled in favour of Ranbaxy, the Helsinki Court of Appeal granted a preliminary injunction against Ranbaxy.

Atorvastatin, whose patent in Finland expires in February 2009, is estimated to have a market of $30-35 million in the European country.

In a litigation that has become a prototype of turf battle between innovator companies and generic drug makers, Pfizer and Ranbaxy are locked in patent litigations in a number of countries like the UK, US, Austria and Norway.

'We are yet to see the details of the document. We can always appeal in the Supreme Court, but all that would be decided upon only after studying the document', a Ranbaxy spokesperson said.

The ruling involves Pfizer's patent (fi94958) that covers processes and intermediate compounds used to make Atorvastain, the active ingredient in Lipitor.

'This decision is another significant milestone in our defense of Lipitor patents around the world and other medical innovators who invest in high-risk research to develop life-saving medicines for millions of patients,' said Pfizer's vice chairman and General Counsel Jeffrey Kindler in a statement on the company's website.

Ranbaxy, in the recent past, has faced disappointment in the US market and victory in Austria on Atorvastatin along with mixed results in the UK and Norway.