Pfizer wins Liptor stay against Novopharm

World drug giant Pfizer says that the Canadian Federal Court in Toronto has granted its application for an order preventing local drugmaker Novopharm from launching a generic version of its best-selling Lipitor (atorvastatin) until expiration of the product's Canadian patent in July, 2010. The decision is subject to appeal but is seen as an important win for Pfizer, which has fought many patent challenges on the cholesterol-lowerer, the world's all-time best selling drug now earning revenues of over $12.0 billion per year.