As far as I can tell, the fact that PZE had awarded Arrow Group’s subsidiary Cobalt Pharmaceuticals the exclusive right to sell an authorized generic Lipitor starting in Nov 2011 had not been publicly disclosed until yesterday. PFE did mention a Lipitor settlement with Cobalt in an SEC filing in 2008, but the filing included no details on the terms of the settlement.
Inasmuch as Cobalt—soon to be part of WPI—will have the exclusive right to a Lipitor authorized generic during Ranbaxy’s 180-day marketing exclusivity starting in Nov 2011 (#msg-30092736), this is highly material for WPI. No wonder the terms of the WPI-Arrow Group deal announced yesterday include a contingent payment that depends on the actual sales of generic Lipitor.