Risky de-risking
Has Malvinder Singh truly freed Ranbaxy from risk by opting for an out-of-court settlement with Pfizer over Lipitor as he has claimed? The markets and analysts certainly thought otherwise. Investors dumped the Ranbaxy stock last week after the company announced that it had closed the feud with Pfizer over cholesterol pill Lipitor. Ranbaxy agreed not to litigate any further against Pfizer's patents on the drug. Pfizer, in return, allowed it to launch generic Lipitor in the US by the end of 2011.