Pfizer Sues Actavis

Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drug manufacturing company, sued Actavis Group (an Iceland based Company) for infringement of Lipitor patent. Pfizer demanded the judge to block sales of a generic version of the cholesterol drug Lipitor until the patent expires. The expiry date of the aforesaid infringed patent is till 2017.

New York based Pfizer contends that Actavis has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make copies of the drug in violation of the patent filed in 1999.

According to a complaint filed today in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware it can be inferred that “Plaintiffs will be irreparably harmed” if Actavis markets its product before the patent-protection expires, Pfizer lawyers demanded legal fees and expenses in the complaint.

Lipitor is the best-selling medicine worldwide, with sales of $11.4 billion in 2009. Pfizer said that on July 6 it has received approval from the European Commission for a new chewable form of Lipitor for children over age 10.

Source: www.bloomberg.com