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Our Bureau

New Delhi , Aug. 3

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd on Thursday announced that the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) handed down a judgment in the company's favour in a case challenging two key atorvastatin patents held by Pfizer.

According to the company, CAFC sided with Ranbaxy by invalidating one of Pfizer's atorvastatin patents (`993) and overturning the Delaware District Court judgment in that regard.

However, it affirmed the portion of the judgment that held that Ranbaxy's product infringes one of Pfizer's US Patents (`893). The ruling followed a hearing in the US CAFC, which took place on May 4, 2006.

Atorvastatin is a cholesterol-lowering drug, marketed by Pfizer as Lipitor, and is the largest-selling drug in the world with estimated annual sales in the US of $8.5 billion.

Commenting on the decision, Mr Jay R. Deshmukh, Senior Vice-President (Global Intellectual Property), Ranbaxy, said: "We are pleased by the court's decision on the `995 patent and are evaluating our options with respect to the `893 patent."

The Ranbaxy scrip closed at Rs 391.95 on the BSE on Thursday, up 3.87 per cent over the previous day's closing.

More Stories on : Courts/Legal Issues | IPR | Pharmaceuticals | Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd

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