Ranbaxy loses to Pfizer in Finland

Ranbaxy Laboratories on Wednesday suffered another legal setback in its bid to sell a generic version of cholesterol-lowering drug,

Atovastatin, which is sold worldwide by patent-holder Pfizer as Lipitor, generates $12 billion in annual global sales.

While a lower court had ruled in favour of Ranbaxy, the Helsinki Court of Appeal granted a preliminary injunction against Ranbaxy. Atovastatin, whose patent in Finland expires in February 2009, is estimated to have a market of $30-35 million in the European country.

Lipitor is the largest-selling prescription drug ever. In a suit that has become a prototype of turf battle between innovator companies and generic drug makers, Pfizer and Ranbaxy are locked in litigation in a number of countries like the UK, the US, Austria and Norway.

"We are yet to see the fine print. We can always appeal before the Supreme Court but all that would be decided upon only after studying the document," said a Ranbaxy spokesperson.

The ruling involves Pfizer's patent (fi94958) that covers processes and intermediate compounds used to make Atovastatin, the active ingredient in Lipitor.

"This decision is another significant milestone in our defense of Lipitor patents around the world and other medical innovators who invest in high-risk research to develop life-saving medicines for millions of patients," said Pfizer Vice Chairman and General Counsel, Jeffrey Kindler in a statement on the company's website.

Ranbaxy in the recent past, faced disappointment in the US market, victory in Austria on Atovastatin and mixed results in UK and Norway.