Pfizer said today it has won a patent case over its Lipitor drug in the High Court.
The court ruled a patent protecting the cholesterol-fighting drug would be infringed by a competing product from India's Ranbaxy Laboratories.
The decision prevents Ranbaxy from launching its drug before the basic Lipitor patent expires in November 2011, Pfizer said. The ruling is subject to a possible appeal.
Lipitor is the world's top-selling drug and amounted to more than one-fourth of Pfizer's $48 billion in revenue last year. The company has been defending its intellectual property for the drug around the world against generic drugmaker Ranbaxy.
Pfizer is also trying to protect Lipitor's market share against an influx of inexpensive generic versions of other cholesterol medicines.
Pfizer shares closed at $25.88 yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange.