Australian court upholds Pfizer's Lipitor patent

World drug giant Pfizer says that the Australian Federal Court in Victoria has upheld the exclusivity of its basic patent covering atorvastatin, the active ingredient in its megablockbuster cholesterol-lowerer Lipitor, preserving the drug's Australian patent coverage through May 2012.

The court found that a proposed Ranbaxy generic product would infringe Pfizer's basic Lipitor patent (AU 601,981). A second patent covering the calcium salt of atorvastatin (AU 628,198), which expires in September 2012, was ruled invalid by the court and Pfizer will appeal that ruling.