Canadian court block Ranbaxy's generic Atorvastatin approval

After a series of unfavorable rulings for Pfizer a Canadian Court of appeals has upheld the Pfizer's patent for Lipitor, delivering a setback to Ranbaxy Lab in its quest to market a generic version of the blockbuster cholesterol drug Pfizer announced that the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada has reversed a lower court ruling that held that Pfizer's enantiomer patent could not block generic manufacturer Ranbaxy Lab from obtaining approval for a competitor product to Lipitor. The appellate court issued an order prohibiting regulatory approval of Ranbaxy's product in Canada until Pfizer's enantiomer (calcium salt) patent--Canadian Patent No. 2,021,546--expires in July 2010. This is a second setback to Ranbaxy in Canada, earlier it was found that Ranbaxy’s amorphous API infringe Pfizers crystalline patent