Pfizer Faces a Litany of Patent Cases

News-Medical.Net reported yesterday, September 21, 2006:

Pfizer faces a litany of patent cases regarding its Lipitor patent, which is set to expire in 2011. Ranbaxy wants to push its generic equivalent of Lipitor to market before Lipitor's patent expiration. With recent regulatory changes, branded companies can only delay generic product launch once under each patent in question. Pfizer's task ahead entails preventing generic competition from taking away Lipitor's market share while it remains under patent exclusivity.

The District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands ruled to uphold the patent for the basic ingredient in Lipitor until its 2011 expiration. Although the Dutch decision does not affect Lipitor patents in the US, Pfizer hopes that cases in the United States will be ruled in favor of protecting Lipitor's market exclusivity as well.

Cutting Edge Information's report "Combating Generics: Pharmaceutical Brand Defense for 2007" can assist companies in finding generic defense strategies customized for their brands. This report contains case studies and actionable strategies pharmaceutical companies must know to retain market share and defend their patents.

A free summary of "Combating Generics: Pharmaceutical Brand Defense for 2007" is available here.

Findings integrate primary and secondary information to present readers with a comprehensive look at current generics defense efforts, including the following strategies:

• Defensive pricing
• Increased marketing and promotion
• Approval for additional indications
• Next-generation product launches
• Patent litigation
• Authorized generics and corporate generics subsidiaries
• Pediatric extensions
• Rx-to-OTC switching