Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd.

Drug maker Pfizer Inc. sued Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, asking a judge to prohibit sales of generic versions of its best-selling anti-cholesterol medicine Lipitor until 2017. Dr Reddy’s had notified Pfizer in October that it was seeking US Food and Drug Administration permission to sell copies of Lipitor, and that the patent wasn’t infringed, according to the lawsuit.

“Pfizer will be irreparably harmed if Dr Reddy’s is allowed to sell the drug in the US market,” according to Pfizer. New York-based Pfizer has $48.2 billion (Rs2.3 trillion now) in total sales last year and had $12.4 billion in 2008 Lipitor sales, out of which $7.7 billion were in the US. Dr Reddy’s is working to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.