Court gives Pfizer another chance in patent lawsuit

NEW YORK The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey should not have granted summary judgment in 2005 to several generic manufacturers to market a generic version of Pfizer’s anticonvulsant drug Neurontin.

The lower court had ruled that the generic companies did not infringe on Pfizer’s patent. Pfizer said the ruling would allow the company to seek a judgment of infringement.  If successful, the company can pursue full compensation for the damages it suffered due to the 2004 at-risk launch of generic versions of Neurontin. 

Before the launch, annual sales of Neurontin were more than $2 billion, the company said.