Pfizer, Ranbaxy win dismissal of lawsuit over generic Lipitor

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd on Friday won dismissal of a US antitrust lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to delay sales of generic versions of the best-selling cholesterol drug Lipitor.

The author has posted comments on this articleReuters | Sep 13, 2014, 07.10AM IST

Pfizer Inc and India's Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd on Friday won dismissal of a US antitrust lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to delay sales of generic versions of the best-selling cholesterol drug Lipitor.

US district Judge Peter Sheridan in Trenton, New Jersey, ruled that the plaintiffs, retailers and distribution companies that bought Lipitor directly from Pfizer, failed to plead their case with enough detail.

The lawsuit, filed in 2012, stems from a 2008 settlement of a patent lawsuit filed by Pfizer against Ranbaxy over Ranbaxy's plan to make generic Lipitor. Under the deal, Pfizer agreed to drop a claim for damages against Ranbaxy, and Ranbaxy agreed to stay out of the Lipitor market until November 2011.

Retailers and distribution companies claim that the settlement amounted to Pfizer paying Ranbaxy to stay out of the Lipitor market, violating antitrust laws. But Sheridan ruled Friday that their case failed because they did not offer any allegation of the settlement's dollar value.

Sheridan dismissed another version of the lawsuit last September.

A Pfizer spokesman said the company was pleased with the ruling.

"Pfizer has always believed that the procurement and enforcement of its Lipitor patents and the settlement of litigation relating thereto was at all times proper and lawful," the spokesman said in an email. "The company will continue to vigorously protect and defend its intellectual property, which is vital to developing new medicines like Lipitor that save and enhance patient lives."

Lawyers for the plaintiffs could not immediately be reached for comment.

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At least 2 dead, 6 rescued from shipwreck near Malta: Police

ATHENS: A young girl was one of at least two migrants who drowned and six more were rescued when their boat sank on Friday in the Mediterranean Sea, Greek port police said.

"The survivors, including a girl in critical condition, are suffering from hypothermia and were hospitalised in Chania on the island of Crete", a spokesman said on Saturday.

Two cargo ships, one flying the British flag and one from Libya, alerted Greek authorities after pulling seven people and a body from the wreck in the waters near the island of Malta.

A young girl later died from her injuries and the two bodies are still on the boats. Maltese authorities have opened an inquiry into the accident.

This year has seen a surge in the numbers of migrants attempting to make the hazardous crossing from north Africa and the Middle East to Europe.

More than 100,000 have reached Italy since the turn of the year and nearly 2,000 have perished in the attempt, according to the UN refugee body UNHCR.

Athens this month asked Brussels for an extra 63 million euros ($83 million) in EU funds to cope with the "dramatic" rise, which they predict could see migrant numbers triple this year.

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Soldiers defeat Islamic extremists in north Nigeria

MAIDUGURI: Soldiers killed scores of Islamic extremists in a rare victory as the insurgents advanced on a town near the northeast city of Maiduguri, an officer and other witnesses said.

One officer said a feared Boko Haram commander known only as Amir was among some 200 militants killed in a battle yesterday in Konduga town, 35 kilometres (22 miles) from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and birthplace of the extremist group.

Also killed was a Boko Haram video journalist and a suicide bomber, he said.

There were no military casualties, according to the officer and a civilian self-defense group that fights alongside the soldiers. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to reporters.

Boko Haram in recent weeks has taken a string of towns stretching over 200 miles (320 kilometres) alongside Nigeria's northeast border with Cameroon in a new campaign to create an Islamic caliphate, mimicking the IS group in Syria and Iraq.

The extremists also have attacked a town and villages across the border in Cameroon, but that country's state radio said Cameroonian troops beat them off and forced them back across the border into Nigeria.

The US said last week it is about to launch a major border security program for Nigeria and its neighbors, but gave no details.

Thousands of civilians have been forced from their homes in the latest offensive, joining more than 1.5 million other Nigerians who are refugees within their country or across borders in Niger, Cameroon and Chad, according to UN figures.

Extremists who have taken other towns have told residents that their next target is Maiduguri, the headquarters of the military campaign in the northeast.

Boko Haram has attacked the city several times, with suicide and car bombs that have killed scores. In December they launched a bold attack on an air force base on the outskirts in which they destroyed five aircraft and in February an assault on the main military barracks in the city in which they freed hundreds of detainees. The soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed detainees in the aftermath of that last attack, mostly civilians accused of belonging or supporting the insurgency. Amnesty International put the number of civilians killed by the soldiers at nearly 700.

Nigeria's military is accused of massive human rights abuses in the fight against the extremists, including the deaths of thousands of illegally detained people.

The United States has said it is launching a major border security project for Nigeria.

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Pope Francis may declare Sri Lanka's first Roman Catholic saint

COLOMBO: Pope Francis may make a 17th century priest Sri Lanka's first Roman Catholic saint during his trip next year, making good on his promise to give Asia more saints as models for the faithful, Sri Lankan and Vatican officials said on Saturday.

Francis plans to visit the island nation from January 13-15 and then travel onto the Philippines to meet with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan.

The archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, said he hoped that the Vatican would give final approval to the sainthood case of India-born Reverend Joseph Vaz so that Francis himself could celebrate the canonisation Mass at Colombo's Galle Face Green.

"We are hopeful," Ranjith said. Vaz was born in Goa, India, in 1651 but chose to work in Sri Lanka amid persecution of Catholics by Dutch colonial rulers, who were Calvinists.

Vaz is credited with having revived the Catholic faith in the country, using disguises and learning the local Sinhala and Tamil languages to meet secretly with underground Catholics. He died in 1711.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, confirmed that the final hurdle, approval of a miracle attributed to Vaz's intercession, was before the Vatican's saint-making office.

"It's possible that the decision of the congregation and that of the pope might come relatively quickly, so that it will be possible to celebrate the canonisation during the Sri Lanka trip," he said.

Ranjith said the miracle under study concerned a Sri Lankan doctor couple who, against medical advice, refused to abort one of their twins and prayed for Vaz's intercession.

St John Paul II beatified Vaz during his 1995 visit to Colombo, the first major step in his sainthood process.

While visiting South Korea last month, Francis beatified 124 Korean martyrs and promised to give Asia more saints, after a young Cambodian complained her country had none.

Francis is particularly keen on raising up as saints martyrs and others who fought Christian persecution, seeing them as models for Catholics on Saturday.

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Truce brings no peace for Donetsk residents

DONETSK (Ukraine): The artillery shell landed after nightfall, blowing out all the windows of a residential building in a district near the airport in Ukraine's rebel-held city of Donetsk.

For people living near the airport - where Ukrainian forces claimed Saturday to have repelled an assault by pro-Russian separatist fighters - there is no peace.

Although the fighting has diminished since Kiev and the rebels signed up to a ceasefire deal over a week ago, there are still reports of shelling each day around Donetsk.

Residents of the Kievskiy district spent Friday clearing up after the night's bombardment, sweeping debris from the streets and fixing shattered windows.

Tatyana Kogalovoshkina, a 52-year-old social worker, said she cannot leave the area because she has elderly parents, so has been sleeping with other residents in her building's basement for more than a month.

"There was a strong blast. When it was calm again we went outside and saw that all the windows... were blown out," she said.

"It was a huge strike, we were in the basement and the plaster fell," she added, showing how residents were barricading their windows using chipboard, furniture and cushions.

Donetsk, the biggest city in the conflict zone in Ukraine's eastern rustbelt, has been in rebel hands for months although government forces have dug in at the airport.

Ukraine's military said it had driven back an attack late Friday on the airport, which has been left largely in ruins since a major battle in May, just a day after the election that brought President Petro Poroshenko to power.

"Many rebels backed by six tanks launched an assault against the airport on Friday which was heroically repelled by the soldiers," the military said, reporting more artillery strikes early Saturday.

Residents say their nerves are shattered by the constant barrage. "Who can we trust now?" says Natalia, 60, as she points to the hole in her yard where an artillery shell landed.

"I can't believe anyone - because people believed (in the ceasefire) and a lot of them came back to Donetsk over the past few days.

"The result - do people have to die here?" Viktor Smolin, a 59-year-old retired miner, pointed to where a mortar shell tore through another residential block.

"What person could feel this without shivering from fear?" he said. "When they bomb, fire at women and elderly civilians, what can we feel? We are being killed here, simply killed."

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KK Paul to be sworn in as Mizoram governor on September 16

AIZAWL: Meghalaya governor Krishan Kant Paul, who was appointed to take additional gubernatorial charge of Mizoram and Manipur, would be sworn in as the governor of Mizoram on September 16 at the Raj Bhavan Durbar Hall in Aizawl.

State protocol officer David L Pachuau said that Paul, who would be arriving Aizawl by helicopter from Imphal, would be accorded a guard of honour at the Thuampui helipad near Aizawl.

The oath of office would be administered by Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre, chief justice of the Gauhati high court or his representative.

Paul is going to be the fifth governor of Mizoram since Vakkom Purushothaman, after being transferred to Nagaland, resigned as the Mizoram governor on July 11 last.

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Man hurls acid at two college girls in Tamil Nadu

MADURAI: Two first-year girl students at the Government Arts College in Thirumangalam in the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu sustained injuries when an unidentified man threw acid at them on Friday.

They were admitted to Thirumangalam Government Hospital.

Police said the two girls, identified as Meena and Angala Easwari, both aged seventeen years, hailed from Chinnapoolampatti village near Thirumangalam.

READ ALSO: TOI's Readers chip in, acid attack victim needs $40,000 more

They were going to have lunch outside the college campus when the unidentified man hurled acid at them.

It is suspected that the acid was hurled at one of the two girls and that her friend too sustained injuries.

The girls told the police that they could not identify their attacker. They said the attacker was aged around 30 years.

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Railways’ revenue earnings up by 12.53%

PUNE: The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during April 1, 2014 to August 31, 2014 were Rs 61324.64 crore compared to Rs 54496.73 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 12.53 per cent.

A statement issued by the railway ministry states that the total approximate earnings from goods during April 1, 2014 - August 31, 2014 were Rs 40879.09 core compared to Rs 37103.34 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 10.18 per cent.

The total approximate revenue earnings from passengers during April 1, 2014 - August 31, 2014 were Rs 17700.16 crore compared to Rs 14758.01 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 19.94 per cent.

The approximate revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs 1649.40 crore during April 2014 - August 2014 compared to Rs 1560.66 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 5.69 per cent.

The total approximate numbers of passengers booked during April 2014 - August 2014 were 3508.68 million compared to 3467.60 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 1.18 per cent.

In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the number of passengers booked during April 2014 - August 2014 were 1932.83 million and 1575.85 million compared to 1882.25 million and 1585.35 million registering an increase of 2.69 per cent and a decrease of 0.60 per cent respectively during the same period last year.

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Sohrabuddin's brother asks CBI to get Gujarat cop DG Vanzara's bail cancelled

BHOPAL: Rubabuddin Shaikh, brother of staged-shootout victim Sohrabuddin Shaikh, has asked CBI to oppose former Gujarat IPS officer D G Vanzara's bail and get it cancelled without further delay.

Vanzara was released on bail in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case by the Bombay high court on Thursday. He will, however, remain in jail for charges in other cases, including the killing of student Ishrat Jahan.

Rubabuddin has on Friday shot a letter to the CBI SP (Mumbai) Sandeep Tamgadge—key investigator in the three fake killings—to file an application in the court for cancellation of his bail application.

"Investigations on fake encounter killing cases of Kauserbi and Tulsiram Prajapati are still pending. Vanzara can influence the probe," Rubabuddin told TOI on phone from his native Jharania village of Madhya Pradesh.

"Last month BJP president Amit Shah got exemption from personal appearance in the court in two alleged fake encounter cases and now Vanzara has got bail. This can only demoralise a complainant," he said adding, "I would move Supreme Court for cancellation of Vanzara's bail if required.

Vanzara, an accused in the fake encounter killing case was been in jail for seven years, had made several attempts to secure a bail for himself. He was arrested on April 24, 2007, along with two other IPS officers Rajkumar Pandian and Dinesh MN, by then investigator Rajnish Rai for killing Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauserbi in November 2005.

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Kedarnath yatra resumes, over 150 pilgrims pay obeisance

DEHRADUN: More than 150 pilgrims paid obeisance to Lord Shiva at Kedarnath on Friday as the yatra to the Himalayan shrine resumed after a five-day suspension.

With the weather clearing up in the higher reaches of Kedar Valley and the trek route from Gaurikund to Kedarnath repaired, the yatra was resumed this morning, Rudraprayag district magistrate Raghav Langar said.

With the improvement in weather, a total of 155 pilgrims, 90 horses and 10 NDRF jawans left Gaurikund for the shrine this morning and reached there by afternoon, he said.

The yatra had been suspended on September 7 when the trek route to the famed temple breached at Chchodi, about 1.5km from Gaurikund, following heavy rains, he said.

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