Pfizer Inc And Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd Sued By Retailers For Generic Lipitor Delay-Reuters

Reuters reported that Five big U.S. retailers filed an antitrust lawsuit against Pfizer Inc and India's Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, accusing them of conspiring to delay sales of generic versions of Lipitor. Walgreen Co, Kroger Co, Safeway Inc, SuperValu Inc and HEB Grocery Co accused the defendants of running an overarching anticompetitive scheme to keep generic versions of the cholesterol drug off the market until November 30, 2011, 20 months after the original patent expired. They said the defendants did this by obtaining a fraudulent patent, engaging in sham litigation, entering a price-fixing agreement to delay cheaper generics, and entering arrangements with pharmacy benefit managers to force retailers to buy more Lipitor, whose chemical name is atorvastatin calcium. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey. Pfizer Inc denies the plaintiffs' claims and will defend itself vigorously. The case is Walgreen Co et al v. Pfizer Inc et al, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, No. 12-04115.