TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – French drugmaker Sanofi SA will begin selling a generic version of Pfizer’s Lipitor, at nearly $11 billion a year starting in the spring of 2012.
Sanofi confirms that its affiliate, Sanofi France, has signed a license with Pfizer to manufacture the drug, known generically as atorvastatin. Sanofi says it won’t start sales until the drug’s patent in France expires, on May 7, 2012. It would not disclose terms of the deal. Pfizer officials were not immediately able to comment. Pfizer has been selling the pills under the brand name Tahor in France.
In the U.S., Lipitor’s patent expires on Nov. 30. Two or more generic versions are expected to go on sale then.
The Associated Press
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
