Pharmacy

Pfizer could earn $800 million after European Union (EU) countries extended exclusive rights to sell its most popular drug Lipitor until next year in exchange for tests that will provide a slightly modified version to a few thousand children.

The US pharmaceuticals group will launch a chewable grape-flavoured low-dose version of its cholesterol lowering drug Lipitor in the EU in November, when the patents are due to expire, exposing the drug to cut-price generic competition.

But under EU regulations designed to encourage research into medicines for children, Pfizer has sought a' supplementary protection certificate' in most EU countries extending its monopoly over supplies am pricing. According to IMS, the top five European markets alone account for 14 per cent of Lipitor's $11 billion in annual sales, indicating a six-month extension is worth $770 million. Few expected the system would provide drug companies with returns on the scale to be earned by Pfizer the additional tests it has carried out have not led to significant changes in the drug's authorized uses. Much of Pfizer's profit in recent years has come from Lipitor, which accounts for about a fifth of total sales so the expiry of the patents presents the company with a hefty challenge, Lipitor has gone off patent in Spain, Finland and Norway but remains protected across most of the EU markets.