Deal Delays Generic Lipitor Until 2011

Pfizer has struck a deal with an Indian generic drug maker to delay a cheaper version of Lipitor in the US until November 2011. The agreement limiting generic versions of the cholesterol-lowering drug will translate into billions more in profits for Pfizer, the New York Times reports. Lipitor, the world's best-selling medicine, costs about $3 a day; a generic version will likely be less than $1.

Pfizer's counsel calls the agreement “pro-patient, pro-competition, and pro-intellectual property.” But not everyone agrees. “This is clearly a miscarriage of the law,” says one analyst. Pfizer will not pay Ranbaxy—the Indian drug maker—but will allow it to sell generic Lipitor in a number of countries outside the US. The Federal Trade Commission is not expected to challenge the agreement. (More Lipitor stories.)