Pfizer Inc said the Court of Appeal of The Hague in the Netherlands has ruled that the basic patent covering atorvastatin - the active ingredient in Lipitor - would be infringed by a competitor product from generics manufacturer Ranbaxy. The decision prevents Ranbaxy from launching its drug before Lipitor's basic patent (EP 247,633) expires in November 2011.

"Today's decision is another affirmation of the strength of the intellectual property behind Lipitor, one of the most important medical breakthroughs of our era," said, Allen Waxman, general counsel, Pfizer. "The court's ruling reinforces the fundamental principle that patent laws exist to support and encourage medical innovators, not undermine them."

Ranbaxy can seek to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.