NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pfizer Inc. announced today that the United States Patent & Trademark Office has granted Pfizer a reissue patent (U.S. Patent No. RE44048), covering methods of treating osteoarthritis and other approved conditions with celecoxib, the active ingredient in Celebrex®. The reissue patent will expire on December 2, 2015, which includes six months of pediatric exclusivity. The basic patent for celecoxib expires on May 30, 2014, which also includes six months of pediatric exclusivity. “Continued development of new medicines that enhance patient lives is supported by protecting intellectual property and innovation,” said Amy Schulman, executive vice president and general counsel for Pfizer. “We are pleased with the reissuance of this patent protecting the invention of using celecoxib to treat osteoarthritis and other approved conditions, and have initiated legal proceedings to enforce our intellectual property rights through December 2, 2015.”
