Pfizer wins Caduet patent suit over Ranbaxy

WASHINGTON A federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has ruled in favor of Pfizer in a patent infringement suit involving Ranbaxy Laboratories and the drug Caduet, which is a combination drug used to treat high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Pfizer filed suit in March alleging that a generic version of the drug proposed by Ranbaxy would infringe on two of its patents. The patents are for the drug Lipitor, which is one of the main ingredients in the drug along with Norvasc and the other patent covers the drug combination. The patents expire in 2010 and 2018, respectively.

Ranbaxy filed counterclaims sought declaratory judgments that that both patents were not infringed and therefore not valid. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had upheld the patent for Lipitor. The court therefore granted Pfizer’s motion to dismiss the counterclaim.