China's top court invalidates Lipitor patent

China's Supreme People's Court ruled invalid a patent covering crystalline formulations of Lipitor atorvastatin from Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), preventing it from suing generic makers and opening the door to additional competition that could erode the company's market share in the country. The court said patent application CN96195564.3 did not provide sufficient detail to support its claims.

Beijing Jialin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Beijing, China), which already markets a powder form of atorvastatin as A Le in China, had filed an invalidation petition challenging the crystalline patent. Atorvastatin is an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor marketed to lower cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular events including heart attack and stroke. ...