EPO Opined in favor of Atorvastatin Calcium Salt Patent

In response to a request from a Spanish Court which is hearing an infringement suit filed by Ranbaxy against Pfizer, the European Patent Office (EPO) has rejected Ranbaxy’s argument contending that a patent covering atorvastatin calcium is invalid for ‘lack of novelty’ and ‘lack of inventive step’ and has upheld the validity of calcium salt patent. The EPO’s statement will be considered among comments from several experts before a court decision is made. The EPO opinion follows a decision earlier this week by a U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit not to review a previous ruling that granted a split decision on two Lipitor patents, supporting Pfizer’s basic patent and invalidating calcium salt patent.