Pfizer announced that it settled a patent infringement case against Teva, under which the Israeli drugmaker agreed not to launch a generic version of Lipitor (atorvastatin) in the UK until May 2012.

According to Pfizer, Teva acknowledged that the patent on Lipitor is valid and would be infringed by its proposed generic version of the product. Teva, along with several other companies, agreed not to sell the generic version of the drug in the UK before patent expiry in May next year. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Last month, Pfizer reached a similar agreement with Sanofi, granting the latter a licence to market a generic version of Lipitor in France on or after May 7, 2012. The product had global second-quarter sales of $2.6 billion.