(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pfizer Inc said today that a Spanish court has upheld the company's enantiomer patent covering the calcium salt of atorvastatin, the active ingredient in Lipitor. The Commercial Court of First Instance Number 4 in Barcelona, which issued the ruling, found a second patent covering a stabilized formulation that includes atorvastatin is invalid.

The patents were challenged by generic manufacturer Ranbaxy.

Lipitor is sold in Spain under the brand names Zarator and Cardyl.

This case is the fourth in a series of challenges to the calcium salt patent by generic companies in Spain. The patent was upheld in one of three previous cases and found invalid in two others. All of the previous decisions are currently on appeal.

The calcium salt patent expires in July 2010 and the stabilized formulation patent expires in December 2013.

"This is a victory not only for Pfizer, but for all innovators pursuing high-risk medical discoveries and for the patients who benefit from those discoveries," said Pfizer General Counsel Allen Waxman.

Ranbaxy can appeal the decision.