Ranbaxy and Pfizer sued for delay in launch of Lipitor in US

NEW DELHI: A group of pharmacies in the US in a lawsuit filed against Ranbaxy Laboratories and Pfizer Inc has accused the two drug firms of delaying the launch of a low-cost version of the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor in the US and also fixed the price of the generic version.

According to news agency Courthouse News, Chimes Pharmacy alleged that Pfizer and Ranbaxy in 2008 agreed to delay the launch of the Indian company’s generic version of Lipitor by 20 months, thereby depriving patients in the US the choice of buying a low-cost medicine.

The pharmacies said Ranbaxy and Pfizer agreed to fix the price of the generic version at just slightly less than Pfizer’s price.

The pharmacies have asked the court to nullify the Pfizer-Ranbaxy deal and compensate consumers equal to the cost difference between the price of Lipitor without the generic competition and the price of the same medicine had a generic entered the market in March 2010.