Fed. Cir. Invalidates Atorvastatin Hemicalcium Salt Claim

The Federal Circuit, in Pfizer, Inc. v. Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., 457 F.3d 1284 (Fed. Cir. August. 2, 2006), reversed the District Court holding that claim 6 directed to the hemicalicum salt of atorvastatin was valid even though it recognized there was a “technical problem” with the drafting of claim 6, because parent claim 2 recited only atorvastatin acid and the hemicalicum salt of atorvastatin acid is not an acid falling within the scope of claim 2. The Federal Circuit acknowledged that there may be ways to redraft claim 6 to cover the subject matter in a way that does not violate 112 ¶4, however the court, citing Nazomi Commc'ns, Inc. v. Arm Holdings, PLC, determined that court should not rewrite claims to preserve their validity.