British court bars early Lipitor copyby Indian drug giant
DODGES MODEST BULLET: ANALYST
LONDON •
A British court backed yesterday a key patent on Pfizer Inc.’ s Lipitor, the world’s top-selling drug, preventing India’s Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. from launching an early generic copycat version.
A judgment ruled that the basic patent on the US$11-billion-a-year medicine, expiring in November, 2011, was valid, but a more specific patent, running out in July, 2010, was not.
Pfizer said the verdict was “an important victory,” but the world’s largest drugmaker will nonetheless appeal the decision on the second patent. Ranbaxy is also expected to appeal, in a process that lawyers said could take around a year.
The British market accounts for nearly 7% of global sales of Lipitor.
Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Scott Henry said Pfizer had dodged a modest bullet, because British sales of Lipitor probably account for no more than US2¢ to US5¢ per share of the company’s annual earnings.
“What was mostly at stake was sentiment. If Pfizer had lost, people might have interpreted that as a precursor to a likely loss by Pfizer of its ongoing U. S. Lipitor fight” against Ranbaxy, he said.
“I still believe Pfizer will win the U.S. case, but you can never make any assumptions in a patent dispute,” Mr. Henry added.
British courts have a reputation for being tougher on patent-holders than those in the United States. Many analysts have been expecting Pfizer to win in the United States even if it failed in Britain.
A Pfizer defeat in the United States could lead to generic competition there by 2007, punching a large hole in the firm’s future earnings.
Uncertainty over Lipitor is one of a number of problems facing Pfizer, whose shares are trading at near eight-year lows.
The company also stands to lose exclusivity on two other drugs — Norvasc and Zoloft — by 2007, while demand for its painkiller Celebrex has been hit by concerns it may increase the risk of a heart attack, following the withdrawal of Merck & Co. Inc.’ s similar drug Vioxx.