UK Appeals Court affirms earlier ruling

Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories says it acknowledges the UK Court of Appeal's decision upholding the High Court's ruling from October 2005 in the firm's case against US drug giant Pfizer (see also page 5).

The case focused on Pfizer's Lipitor (atorvastatin), and found that Pfizer's European patent (number 409 281) was invalid in the UK. However, the Court of appeal also upheld the decision that Ranbaxy's atorvastatin-based product infringed on the broadest claims of a second of Pfizer's patents, number 247 633, in the UK.

Ranbaxy added that it was evaluating the Appeal Court's ruling and would decide on its course of action in the near future.