Pfizer, Inc., filed suit against Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. yesterday in an attempt to delay a generic alternative for two well known cholesterol drugs, Lipitor and Caduet.  Pfizer, Inc. is claiming that Ranbaxy has infringed its patents.  According to the lawsuits filed yesterday in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, Pfizer is seeking a court order barring Ranbaxy from selling generic versions of Lipitor and Caduet in 2010.  Instead, Pfizer is seeking to bar Ranbaxy from selling the generic versions until 2016, when two patents on a process to make the drugs expire.  According to Bloomber News, “Lipitor is the world’s best-selling drug with $12.7 billion in sales last year. Caduet, which had $568 million in 2007 sales, combines Lipitor with Pfizer’s Norvasc, a drug used to treat high blood pressure.”

The cases are Pfizer Inc. v. Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., 08cv164 and 08cv162, both U.S. District Court District of Delaware (Wilmington).

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a.5gea.QNhNM