Codexis targets sale of intermediate in atorvastatin

Paris (Oct. 3)-In gearing up for opportunities in the generic drug market, Codexis (Redwood City, CA, www.codexis.com), which specializes in biocatalysis for pharmaceutical chemical development, is expanding into direct sale of pharmaceutical intermediates with the receipt of its first commercial orders from generic drug manufacturers for ATS-8, a chemical intermediate in atorvastatin, the API in Pfizer's top-selling drug “Lipitor.” Codexis made the announcement at CPhI Worldwide here.

ATS-8 will be manufactured through an existing partnership with India's Arch Pharmalabs (Mumbai, India, www.archpharmalabs.com), with sales handled by Codexis's Indian subsidiary Codexis Laboratories India Private Ltd.

In the United States, the basic product patent covering atorvastatin is set to expire in March 2010 and the patent covering the active enantiomeric form of the drug is set to expire in June 2011, according to Pfizer's 2006 second quarter filing. In August, Pfizer won a ruling by a federal appeals court against Ranbaxy Laboratories, Inc. (Gurgaon, India, www.ranbaxy.com) that upheld the exclusivity of the main patent covering atorvastatin in the United States until March 2010.