Court denies Lipitor patent challenge.

(From AFX Europe (Focus))

NEW YORK (AFX) - Drug developer Pfizer Inc. said Monday a federal court denied a competitor's request to rehear a patent challenge to its cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor.

The request made by Indian generic drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. was for a rehearing of an Aug. 2 decision by a federal appeals court that ruled it infringed on one of Pfizer's patents. The specific patent, which expires in 2010, deals with the active ingredient in the drug.

That Aug. 2 decision also included a reversal in favor of Ranbaxy over another patent for Lipitor, on technical grounds. Pfizer said it will go back to the patent office to …