Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd announced that it successfully invalidated claims 1-3 (all claims sought to be invalidated) of Austrian Patent No. AT E 207 896 as anticipated by, and as lacking inventive step over, respectively, a Pfizer-owned published patent application and a Pfizer owned patent, as reflected by a decision released by the Austrian Patent Office, a Ranbaxy release stated.

In making its ruling in favour of Ranbaxy's arguments that claims 1-3 of the patent were invalid on various grounds, the Austrian panel of five judges agreed that the specific patent claims are invalid as anticipated by Pfizer's international patent application PCT/US89/00719, which published as WO 89/07598. Alternatively, and in addition, the Court agreed with Ranbaxy that the patent claims lack an inventive step over Pfizer ' s United States Patent No. 4,681,893. Pfizer can appeal the ruling.

The global market for Atorvastatin in year 2004 was $ 12 billion [Source - IMS Health].

Atorvastatin has been the subject of a patent lawsuit in the United States between Pfizer and Ranbaxy, the trial portion of which concluded in December, 2004. The United States equivalent (US 5,273,995) of the Pfizer patent of which claims 1-3 were invalidated in Austria, was asserted against Ranbaxy in that action, as was United States Patent No. 4,681,893.

In response to the decision by the Austrian Patent Office, Dr Brian W Tempest, CEO & managing director, Ranbaxy, said, "We are obviously pleased that the Austrian Patent Office has agreed with our position."