June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc., the world’s biggest drugmaker, sued rivalMylan Inc. asking a judge to prohibit sales of a generic version of its cholesterol-fighting medicine Lipitor until 2017.
In federal court papers filed today in Wilmington, Delaware, lawyers for New York-based Pfizer contend a Mylan affiliate has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to sell copies of Lipitor, the world’s best- selling drug, before three Pfizer patents expire.
“Defendants have taken immediate and active steps” to sell Lipitor copies in the U.S. and “Pfizer will be irreparably harmed” if Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based Mylan succeeds, according to the complaint.
Pfizer officials have said they’re looking for cooperative ventures with other pharmaceutical makers to increase generic sales as patents expire. Lipitor logged $12.4 billion in revenue last year, $7.7 billion of it in the U.S.
Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., India’s biggest drugmaker and majority owned by Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo Co., settled a lawsuit filed by Pfizer and plans to enter the market in November 2011. Pfizer already is suing Apotex Inc. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. to prevent them from selling copies of the medicine before then. ...
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