Zyprexa

Industry analysts said AstraZeneca was the most obvious European winner from the ruling on Lipitor, which is expected to have worldwide sales of around $12 billion this year.

The Anglo-Swedish company's rival cholesterol medicine Crestor could have suffered if Pfizer had lost, since that would have allowed in inexpensive generic drugs and triggered a price war in the all-important U.S.

marketplace.

Crestor sales have been slower to ramp up than AstraZeneca had originally hoped but the product remains a key driver for the business, raking in worldwide revenues of $325 million in the third quarter.

Sanofi is not directly involved in the cholesterol market but it was boosted by hopes that the ruling augured well for its own court fight over top-selling bloodthinner Plavix, which it sells with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

Plavix is the world's fourth-biggest drug by sales, with annual sales of more than $5 billion.

Merrill Lynch analysts said loss of exclusivity on the world's largest-selling drug, sold by the world's biggest pharmaceuticals company, would have dealt a major blow to the industry as a whole.

In fact the ruling turned out better than many investors had expected, with the judge upholding both of...

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